


The Legacy

by RogueDevlin



Category: Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha | Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Genre: Additional Warnings Apply, Alternate Universe, Crime Fighting, Crimes & Criminals, F/F, Graphic Description, Other: See Story Notes, Suspense, Triggers, reader discretion advised
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:53:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 98,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29224260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RogueDevlin/pseuds/RogueDevlin
Summary: Fate, an elite agent on the trail of a ruthless serial killer. Nanoha, a high-level neuroscientist. This is the story of their confrontation with the darker side of human nature, and how it changed their lives forever. Translated version to English from Aleksei Volken's original "El Legado"
Relationships: Amy Limietta Harlaown/Chrono Harlaown, Clyde Harlaown/Lindy Harlaown, Fate Testarossa Harlaown/Takamachi Nanoha, Momoko Takamachi/Shiro Takamachi, Shamal/Signum (Lyrical Nanoha)
Comments: 42
Kudos: 30





	1. The beginning is not always the starting point

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated E for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.
> 
> TRANSLATOR'S NOTES: It seems I just can't stop translating Aleksei's stories.Thanks to Sylph-kun for patiently spotting my mistakes translating especially when my keyboard insists on failing to type 'o' correctly. Thanks to Miniberto (love you!) for all the patience with all the time I translate and thanks of course to Aleksei, for writing and writing and still writing and writing more.
> 
> A kind reminder this is an Aleksei Volken story, The warning up there is more than warranted. This is going to be a ride.
> 
> Below are some original notes.
> 
> [AV]This is an Alternate Universe story where there is no magic and it's not related to MSLNs canon at all. Although the story unfolds in a technologically advanced world that it's not the earth (any similarity is coincidental) and that we have decided to call Rigel, simply due to the reference of the two moons we saw in Midchilda in StrikerS.
> 
> The main location is Midchilda City, where Special Agent Enforcer Fate Testarossa Harlaown investigates violent crimes of different nature for TSAB. Due to the importance of a certain case, she along with her team is assigned to the investigation of an alleged serial killer. Fate has a tragic past (just like the original story), and during the manhunt for this killer, she will have to deal with the ghosts from her past, she will have to face what's really important for her, and will have to make life-threatening decisions.
> 
> In this story, we will have the participation of a lot of characters from the series, although it is focused on Fate, of course, Nanoha and Hayate will also have main roles. Since both Galadan and I like the couple Signum and Shamal they will also have space here.
> 
> Useful Notes: For this fic, I had to readjust a little the names of the agencies so these references will surely be useful.
> 
> TSAB: Tactics and Strategy Authority Bureau
> 
> This Agency is associated with the army, but it is decentralized so it holds autonomy for its actions. For practical uses, we have turned TSAB into a combination of what would result by mixing a fictitious FBI and CIA.
> 
> TSAB's Tactics Division: One of the three main branches of TSAB, led by Admiral Gil Graham. The other two are the Intelligence one and the Armed Forces Affairs Committee.
> 
> Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction Section of the Tactics Division: Led by Admiral Clyde Harlaown (yes, in this fic, Chrono's father is alive).
> 
> Special Units Section: Led by Admiral Lindy Harlaown. She has under her scope nine units for special investigation operations, intelligence and counterintelligence. Even though there are nine units, it is possible that only units 6 and 9 will be interacting.
> 
> Section 6: Special Tactic Unit for Violent Crimes, led by Colonel Hayate Yagami, focused on violent crimes of different nature as well as any incidents that affect the safety of the general population. This unit is 100% focused to protect the citizens.
> 
> Section 9: Tactical Operations for Public Safety. This unit is 100% dedicated to 'special' operations. At the same time, it is in charge of any and all incidents that fall under the ULTRA SECRET classification and thus have a relation with the army. In charge of it is our "friend", General Regius Gaiz.

**The Legacy**

Written by Aleksei Volken  
Translation by Rogue Devlin

**CHAPTER 1. The beginning is not always the starting point.**

_Light is the left hand of darkness  
and darkness, the right hand of light.  
Two are one, life and death, lying  
together like lovers in kemmer,  
like hands joined together,  
like the end and the way_

― _Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness_

— X —

**Suburban area of Midchilda City.  
Day 12, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 22:00 hrs.**

" _Very few things in life afflict me as deeply as the suffering from those that cannot defend themselves."_

" _A small animal left out, down to its luck, a wild animal hunted to satisfy an arrogant ego; a woman abused by a husband that had vowed to protect her, but even more so… a child that involuntarily crosses paths with that of a monster."_

With her body tense, her fists clenched and a hardened look, Enforcer Fate Testarossa Harlaown, leader of the main team of TSAB's Special Tactic Unit 6 for Violent Crimes forced herself to keep straight in the middle of the horror of the latest crime scene she had been called to.

Just a few minutes ago, her seconds in command had taken away the only survivor from the massacre that was all around her. Although for the time being, they still did not know what they were up against, Fate was certain of one thing, it was atrocious. The police department of the region had called them due to the magnitude of the tragedy in front of them, due to the existence of that little survivor, and especially, because of the area where the tragedy had occurred. They were still working on identifying the identities of the family, but whoever they were, they had lived in an area of the city that was reserved for the influential members of high-level officials in the government. That case was going to be a hot nail for whoever was in charge, and that was, now, Fate, or rather say, her boss, Colonel Hayate Yagami.

Whoever was responsible for everything around her surely was not counting on having left a potential witness alive.

Fate kept scouting the room where she was, slowly with her eyes, trying to focus on what that space had been before. The living room was traditional in the familiar houses in Midchilda, the common area, by excellency, where the family gathered after a day of work or school, to gather around together, have dinner, play and do any mundane activities like keep up with the news of the day or make homework or even spend some time with friends. It was fairly ample, with large windows facing northbound that were covered with an efficient system of automated blinds as well as the latest technological gadgets that made life easier and safer for its inhabitants; the warm colors of the walls and the scarce but well taken care of furniture indicated a rather simple yet homely life. The family must have felt safe, sheltered in that space, they felt at ease.

That had been the place the killer had chosen for his performance. And he had taken his sweet time. Fate was sure about that even when the forensic examiners were still quietly and diligently working around her. It was still too early to tell who had died first, but at that moment there were four bodies placed in a way that certainly did not speak about randomness, but rather of careful preparation and ruthless execution.

A male adult, stripped from almost eighty percent of his skin with surgical precision was hanging in a crucifix position, in the north side of the room, in front of the large windows. Thick bloody fluids were still slithering down from the upper part of his body, to shyly drip forming the pool of blood at his feet where the rest of his blood was already coagulating.

Exactly in front of him, in the southern part of the living room, a woman, probably the man's wife, with her hands tied to her back and heavily gagged had been impaled using a sophisticated metallic post that extended a little under five feet, bolted to the floor with heavy construction nuts. Fate had never seen anything like that, the killer must have had to build it for that specific purpose. Save for the binding marks on her wrists and in her mouth, the woman's skin was immaculate.

On the east and west sides of the room, two young teenagers that Fate estimated must have been around thirteen years old and probably the couple's twin children, had been murdered with a single deep slash to their throats. The cut had been so deep that the head from both youngsters was hanging back in a gruesome angle that had Fate almost sick to her stomach. The blood around them had extended through the floor, oozing out from the terrible wounds, staining the walls and the floor altogether.

Fate was struggling as hard as she was able to keep level-headed and composed in the middle of that madness; all during her years of experience in violent crimes, and especially in the cases of serial killers, she had developed the technique of trying to see the space as it had been before the crime and then superimpose the image of any horror that had happened, but she had never faced something like this. The efforts of her subordinates, Vice and Alto, trying to get her ready for what she was going to see had been in vain. Being able to analyze a scene like that one was determinant for the future success of the investigation, Fate was well aware of it, but she was trapped trying to wrap her head around what had happened there, absorbing the magnitude of the event, registering as much detail as possible that would then help her build the case with her team and at the same time, she was trying to overcome the emotions building up inside her.

Without being able to help it, her mind drifted again and again to the little blonde head that Shamal had taken in her arms barely a few moments ago. The girl was alive but completely in shock. Fate made a last rational attempt to focus on her job and do what she had to do, taking mental notes about everything she wanted to ask Shamal about the little girl. Despite Fate's feelings, the girl would be crucial for the investigation.

The lights of the room were now back on again, but when Fate first arrived after Alto's urgent message, the room was still the same way the first patroller that arrived had found it and who started the chain of calls, escalating in rank until making its way to Fate's boss. The room was in darkness, just with the two moons of Midchilda casting their light over them and a few floating incandescent lamps in its minimum setting, strategically placed. Just the way they would be set for an intimate dinner between lovers.

Once she had overcome the shock of entering the living room for the first time, Fate set up an urgent call with all her team. Now they were all deployed all around the house, performing several activities, in a joined effort with the local police department.

Fate felt, more than actually seeing, a stealthy presence clad in a black uniform very similar to hers, waiting at a safe distance from her. Everyone on her team knew she was not to be disturbed at such moments. Turning around she found the hard look on Signum's eyes, who was her second in command at the team she led. There was no need for explanation and unnecessary words between them, although Signum had only been working directly with Fate for two years, she was the person she trusted the most, and undoubtedly, the one that knew her better than anyone else.

"The techs have finished their work, Fate. They are ready to wrap up the scene as soon as you indicate it."

Without moving from the place she was standing, Fate gave out her instructions.

"Get everyone out, turn off the lights as they were when we arrived, and give me a few more minutes."

Signum was already turning around to carry out Fate's indications of her superior when Fate's voice stopped her.

"Signum… has Shamal informed anything regarding the girl?"

Signum arched a brow slightly surprised. It was not Fate's question but the tone in her voice that caught her attention.

"Yes, she communicated with me a few minutes ago. They are at the Research and Medical facilities of the Agency, she administered her some sedatives and is performing an examination right now. So far, everything seems to indicate she is physically unharmed."

Fate did not ask any more questions and returned to keep examining the scene while Signum walked away to fulfill her instructions.

Not two minutes later, the room was again in silence and dark, only with the small lamps that were lit next to the bodies.

Fate walked up to stand in front of each of them, turning around to see what each had seen before dying. With a shudder running through her spine, she started to imagine what the autopsy report would say about the bodies, and as she was absorbing everything, she felt the pressure of a steel claw gripping her heart. They were undoubtedly facing a monster.

When she went back to the street, her whole team was already gathered, waiting for her. The air was very cold since it was the beginning of the winter season in Midchilda, but for Fate, it was actually refreshing, she felt feverish after being in that living room. Arranging her blonde mane behind her ear, she approached her team. Two men, one of them very tall and three women were waiting for her, all in their black uniforms. The rest of the techs and police officers knew who they were and kept at a respectful distance.

"Tell them they can proceed, Signum."

A slight gesture with her head was the stoic answer from her second in command, although she did not move to carry out her instructions as she would usually do.

"Is there something missing?" Fate asked, intrigued.

"While you were doing the last inspection of the living room, Zafira found something you should see."

Fate's eyes traveled through all her team. Whatever it was, it was obvious everyone had already seen it.

Alto, Vice, and the youngest member of the team, Lucino Lilie, looked serious and with a somber expression in their eyes.

"This way," Zafira's deep voice indicated, leading the way back into the house.

Fate noticed Signum joined their way, but that Alto, Vice, and Lucino remained to wait in the same place.

Zafira entered the house without going through the living room and continued directly towards the staircase, going to the second level that Fate had not seen yet.

Nothing on the rest of the house gave any indication of the abomination that the family living in there had suffered. Everything was spotless, except for the smell of blood that was already impregnating all the space.

As soon as she entered the room, following Zafira's steps, Fate knew it was a girl's room. The walls were painted in white with details in pale blue and pink, and although the decoration and furniture were modest, like the rest of the house, there were a lot of toys and models to scale, delicately distributed, and several framed pictures.

Zafira walked directly to the closet and after opening it wide, moved aside for Fate to look.

Fate was suddenly unable to move. The closet was completely empty but a message was written with blood on the white wall on the back, where some letters seemed to have more texture than the others. It took Fate several seconds to realize why. Her breathing got faster and her heart was beating uncontrollably. The message was for her.

"I LET HER LIVE… FATE"

Her name was not written in blood as she first thought, but with strips of bloodied skin. That was the reason some letters looked different than the rest.

"We are not sure that it is referring to you," Signum said as if she was reading Fate's mind.

Despite knowing Signum was right and as the seconds went by she felt more in control of her emotions, Fate could still feel a shiver running down her back at the sight of her name written with human skin.

"Have the forensic techs been in this room?" she managed to ask with a controlled yet tense voice.

"Not yet. Zafira showed it to me just a little before you went out."

"We need them to do a much more exhaustive inspection now. Of the _entire_ house, with extreme detail, without leaving any corner out. This throws away the idea that the killer may not have known about the girl."

"Apparently so," was Signum's vague answer. She preferred to be a hundred percent sure of things and that would only be possible when she was face to face with him.

Usually, Fate would wholeheartedly agree with her, but this time her gut told her that this was more critical than anything they have dealt with before.

"I will go with the guys to the office to start sorting out what we have so far. You and Zafira stay here to supervise everything and be extremely careful with the information. We cannot prevent the story of the murder from going public, but about this room, no one can know anything."

Signum and Zafira nodded. It was the standard procedure but in this case, it would be crucial.

"Let's reconvene when they finish. Maybe Shamal will also have something about the girl," Fate had given out her last instructions with her back turned to the open closet and its terrifying message. She needed to gather back her self control and see things with clarity.

"That is another point we need to talk with you about, Fate," Signum said with a serene voice.

Zafira took, with a gloved hand, one of the many pictures that were distributed along with the bedroom and handed it to Fate. It was a family picture. Fate was able to recognize the man, the woman, and the teenagers in the picture.

"The girl Shamal took back is not the one that appears in the pictures in this bedroom," Signum finished.

The information finally made sense in Fate's mind. The girl Shamal had taken from the scene was blond. That had been what had shocked Fate at the beginning. The girl was a blonde like she was and by the state they had found her, she had maybe seen hell itself, just as Fate had seen it when she was almost the same age.

The girl that looked smiling at Fate from the picture had pink-purplish hair, with a similar shade to her mother's. The boys and the father had red hair. Fate looked at the rest of the pictures. None pictured a blond girl.

Fate gritted her teeth and hardened, feeding on the anger that was growing in her.

"Let me know when you are done here and you are on your way to the office," she said as she stepped out of the room. It was almost midnight and Signum and Zafira looked at each other knowing it was going to be a very long night.

— X —

**Residential Suburban area to Midchilda's Rigelian University  
Day 13, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 00:00 hrs.**

Three young women were laughing cheerfully as they walked through the tree-lined streets to the apartment they shared near the university. Midchilda's gigantic university complex, where all the education and research buildings were located, had promoted the development of a neighboring urban area where many of the academics and investigators lived. Although it was very expensive for the students, who usually lived at the university's dorm rooms while their studies lasted, or in sublet apartments much farther from the university; this group of friends, in particular, had managed to convince their parents during their last year, and pooling together their parent's help along with the income from their first jobs, they had been able to rent a large apartment for the three of them.

Now, being all of them academics and researchers they did not need their parent's financial aid anymore to continue renting it, although they had their issues. Like their parents, who kept telling them that they were already old enough and financially self-sufficient to live on their own, that is, each one of them on their own, to be responsible and maybe even settle down, getting married and starting a family. But they, at their twenty-eight years of age, were still perfectly happy as they were and saw no reason at all to make any changes. They lived in a privileged area, in a luxurious building and since they were pooling their income, they lived comfortably without needing anything. They could do exactly as they pleased, whenever they pleased, and without owing anyone any explanations. They were really living the dream for the independent young woman.

Their parents, however, would not stop insisting and that was the topic of their conversation as they were walking, without any rush and despite the incipient cold around them.

"… and then, Nanoha, it seems that YOUR dad, lately has been talking a lot with mine!" the blonde young woman, who had been talking non-stop for the last ten minutes, said while poking at her red-haired friend's shoulder as if it was her fault.

"Mou, Alisa-chan... that's not fair. I could tell you the same thing!" she defended herself as she tried to fake being offended. "Wasn't your dad the last one lecturing us about responsibilities and adulthood?"

That day, Nanoha's parents had invited them for dinner at their restaurant, Midoriya, which had started as a modest coffee shop, close to the elementary school they had attended and met each other, over fifteen years ago, and that was not a very well-known and highly regarded establishment boasting an international gourmet cuisine.

"You have to agree that Nanoha-chan's parents are the most considerate ones, Alisa-chan. They are not pressuring us to _do something with our lives_ like now, now, right now," the brunette of the group intervened in a conciliatory way.

"And that question asking if we already had a serious relationship with anyone, was exactly what, Suzuka?" the suspicious blonde asked.

"Well, Alisa-chan, you are the one to blame for that. You talk about a different guy each time they see you," Nanoha said with a playful look.

"That's because one was to make sure about the chosen one. You know what they say, right? You have to kiss a lot of frogs to find the prince," Alisa defended herself.

"Well, I'd rather find my prince within my own species," Nanoha countered as she looked inside her bag for the control of the security door of their building.

"Hey, it does not seem you are making too much of an effort," Alisa added a light punch to her remark. "The new director of the University's Infinity Library has some failed attempts to get close to you and they have failed, mostly because of you."

"Ahh… not again, Alisa-chan. I have told you many times, Yuuno-kun and I are just friends! Remember that…" Alisa already knew the explanation and did not let her finish.

"Yeah, yeah, we know, he was our little classmate during elementary school, so maaany years ago. What a coincidence…!" and after a dramatic pause, Alisa added with a louder tone, "And what the hell does that have anything to do with you taking him to bed now?"

"ALISA!" both Nanoha and Suzuka turned to her, punching their friend for making such comments, almost screaming her lungs out in the middle of the street. And the way it sometimes happened with them, they stayed there arguing with each other like girls in the middle of the street, despite the fact that they were respected scholars and researchers of the Rigelian University.

Until a male voice interrupted their discussion.

"Good evening, ladies. It seems you are alone around here, but we can help you."

The three friends realized until then that four young men had approached them while they were talking. They also realized the three of them and those guys were the only people around at that time. The streets, although they were completely illuminated, were also completely solitary. They had taken longer than usual on their way back, and although they were in a very safe zone, there was something in their attitude that was threatening and Nanoha slightly squeezed the control to her door. There were still some fifty yards to their home.

"You are quite mistaken because we do not need any help at all," Alisa replied with a dry tone. And without flinching.

"Come on, the night is young, and we can tell you want to have fun, we want to have fun, too… We'll all have fun!" the boldest one of them kept talking as they all got closer to them smiling. "Let's start with your names, babes."

Alisa was standing slightly in front of her friends, with Nanoha and Suzuka, flanking her. Both were still calm, wondering if they should call for the security guards of the area or if that would only make things worse with the idiotic guys.

"That is none of your business. Stop bothering us."

Having said that, Alisa turned around, indicating her friends the way to their home. However, that was not good enough for them, and the young men quickly stood in their way and got even closer to them than before. Even if the guys surely were younger than they were, they were taller and looked strong. They did not look like delinquents, just stupid boys with nothing good to do, just looking for trouble. Maybe they were even students newly admitted to the university.

"Come on! Don't be boring," the leader kept insisting, but now his friends intervened as well, emboldened, asking their names and suggesting going somewhere else to talk and get to know each other better.

"You cannot reject us like this without even getting to know us! That would be totally unfair. Let's sit down, talk and you will see we will have a great time together."

The girls waited for a little while without replying to any of their propositions, looking angrily at them until they finally shut up.

"The answer is no, to everything. Now, if you don't want us to call the police to report you, stop getting in our way, and better yet, stop bothering us," Alisa was with her arms crossed over her chest with a defiant attitude.

The young men burst out in laughter. "Really?"

Nanoha tried to intervene since Alisa's defiant attitude did not seem to be helping them to get out of the situation.

"Listen, guys, this is really unpleasant. Your attitude is very disrespectful and offensive. I do not know if you are students from the university or not, but the best is for you to stop this."

The leader of the group, even if he had been arguing with Alisa, had really not taken his eyes off of Nanoha during the long while and now he took the opportunity to talk to her.

"You are very cute and have a very nice voice, why don't we talk about something more pleasant so you can see how mistaken you are," and extending his hand he tried to touch a lock of red hair that fell by Nanoha's cheek, who was starting to pull away to avoid the contact when she saw the invasive hand be trapped in the air by a fist in a black glove.

The face of the four boys turned to surprise immediately as they looked at the one who had interrupted them. Just like they had fallen over a group of unsuspecting girls, over them, three black-dressed figures had also fallen onto them and now were staring dead-serious at them and without saying a single word.

The leader of the group looked alternatively, gaping, from his hand suspended mid-air to the blonde in front of him that kept it firmly grasped. A blond woman that was even taller than him and her impressive tall friends also fully dressed in black.

The next thing they heard was the voice of that woman giving instructions, while she handcuffed him, restraining his movements with such speed that he was not even able to resist.

"Vice, Alto… arrest the others." The look in the blonde's eyes was ruthless. Her subordinates looked at her slightly surprised at first but quickly followed her indications while the boys tried uselessly to defend themselves. "And call the local police to come and pick them up."

In under one minute, the four were sitting on the sidewalk, completely intimidated by the severe gaze of the First Sergeant, Vice Granscenic, who was informing them why they had restrained them and what would follow when the police arrived.

Fate, who up until that moment had not spoken to the three young women, looked at them, asking in a slightly more friendly yet still serious tone. "Are you three all right?"

"Of course! Thanks for the help, but we had the situation perfectly under control," Alisa was quick to answer with confidence.

"Alisa! Not again…" Suzuka said, elbowing her reckless friend to shut up for once. "Thank you very much Agent, the truth is it was starting to get awkward. It's very weird for things like this to happen here and we didn't know whether to call the police or not," Suzuka explained, slightly bowing her head to Fate, thanking her for her help.

"You must always consider calling the police and it would also be convenient to avoid getting into long conversations with strangers in the middle of a deserted street," Fate said with all seriousness, "You never know what can happen."

As she spoke, Nanoha, who had not said anything just yet, looked at her deeply intrigued. It was obvious they were not cops, the girl had recognized the uniform from TSAB. She did not know they were allowed to make arrests in cases like that one, she was sure their competence was strictly federal.

"Uh, as I was saying, yeah thanks, but it's not necessary to scold us as well," Alisa was slightly annoyed by the recriminating tone from the blonde. Sure, they had helped them, but it had not been a big deal.

"Alisa-chan, I don't think they are from the police. They are TSAB," Nanoha said, at last, looking at Fate.

At the moment, Alto interrupted them, asking Fate for a minute to speak to her. Taking her a bit farther away so the girls would not overhear them, she informed her of her concerns.

"Excuse me, Fate. I understand you wanted to intervene, but we cannot overstep our bounds. We cannot arrest these guys. Vice is giving them a good shake and I already called some friends at the police station and luckily for us, our friends, the Nakajimas, are on duty tonight and they will come by to give us a hand, but the truth is, these guys had not done anything wrong yet."

"Are we supposed then to wait until we have a scene like the one we are just returning from, Alto?" Fate's gaze was hard and there was a veiled pain casting a shadow on her crimson eyes. The two women looked at each other in silence, until Fate finally sighed and eased her subordinate.

"I see what you mean, Alto. It's just that I'm less than tolerant today. Let's hurry up. I was not counting on this interruption and we need to get to the office asap."

Fate looked less stressed out after agreeing with Alto about what they would do when their cop friends arrived and returned with the girls.

"So… Can we leave, Agent? The truth is it's already too late and it seems you have everything under control."

Fate looked at the cheeky blonde while her friends bickered at her for talking to her like that. That girl was surely nothing but trouble.

"Is your home far from here?" Fate asked. The last thing she wanted was for them to get into more trouble.

"It's the building just up ahead, agent. We were almost there when these guys approached us," Suzuka informed her, trying to stop her from worrying.

Despite being so close Fate offered to escort them while Vice and Alto waited with the boys for the police to arrive. The way was really short, so Fate quickly explained to them that they could not arrest the guys but that they would give them a warning and that in any case, they should always be cautious and to always call the police. Especially if those boys, in particular, tried to bother them again.

Under the light of the lobby of the luxurious building, Nanoha was finally able to see with more clarity the features of the blonde agent. The traits of her face were delicate but firm, almost chiseled, but the thing that struck Nanoha the most were her eyes, of deep crimson color with a shade of sadness that somehow saddened Nanoha as well and just remained staring at her without saying a single word.

Fate, noticing the redhead's stare, cleared her throat a little and quickly bidding goodbye, left to get back to her team.

Suzuka and Alisa quickly got inside their building, but Nanoha stayed in place staring at the blonde's figure as she got away, until she realized her friends were staring at her.

"Are you coming in or are you going to ask her for her number?" Alisa teased her.

"Oh, Alisa-chan! What do you mean with that, huh?" the red-haired protested, entering as well and following her friends to the elevator.

"You were almost drooling while gawking at her, just now," Alisa added quite insightfully.

"Well, the agent is really pretty," Suzuka added. "And she is so tall."

"But she had a very sad look," Nanoha said, more to herself than to her friends, although that did not stop Alisa from giving her opinion.

"Well, that has not helped Yuuno one bit."

"Enough with the Yuuno thing, Alisa. That's exactly what got us into trouble. If we had not been arguing in the street…" Nanoha suddenly remained very quiet.

"What?" both her friends asked at once as they got to their floor and the elevator opened. As they got out, the motion sensors turned up the lights and the rest of the smart sensors of the place.

Nanoha walked to the large panoramic window that looked directly to the front entrance of the building. From the fifth floor, they could still distinguish the group of people and Fate's figure walking towards them.

"I was thinking we didn't get to ask her name," Nanoha said without turning to look at her friends, with her gaze fixed on the movements of Fate's figure, wondering why she had that look of sadness in her eyes.

As she walked with decided steps and without looking back, Fate, in turn, noticed that she had slightly blushed. The blue-eyed redhead had deeply stared at her before saying goodbye, almost as if she was able to look right through her. Very few people were able to see the kind of person Fate really was, and for a complete stranger to bring out that feeling, it was something that profoundly disconcerted her.

When Fate rejoined the group, Lucino was out of the car and had joined them as well, since the police officers Tiida Lanster and Ginga Nakajima had already arrived and were already giving a good reprimand to the boys.

Before indicating to her team it was time to leave, she approached the boys again, who were still sitting on the sidewalk. Officer Tiida Lanster, who was at that moment, severely reprimanding the boys turned silent in front of Fate.

Fate stared directly at the leader, the one who had just been very close to touching the redhead, and spoke to him, "I hope you have the common sense to never bother them or any other woman ever again in your life. Pray for them, in particular, to never stumble on the street because if I hear the slightest complaint from them, I will come for you and you will not enjoy at all what will happen to you."

Tiida, Ginga, and Fate's team members made their best effort to control their astonishment. Fate had just threatened a citizen, without batting an eye.

"Have I made myself clear?"

The boy barely managed to nod nervously, totally hunched over himself under the harshness of Fate's gaze.

After that and assuring their cop friends they would meet soon to catch up, they left them to go back to their office, where they were originally headed to start the investigations pertaining to the terrible murders when they ran into the group of young men and women and had decided to linger a bit to see what was really going on.

"I'm glad you insisted that we should stick around Fate, those guys could have turned violent, and maybe the girls would have had a bad moment." Lucino, who was very young, had been worried about the girls from the very first moment they spotted them.

"Yes, it's best to prevent incidents from happening," the brief distraction had taken her mind off the appalling scene they had witnessed for a few minutes, but now that they were on their way back to the office, Fate's mind was one hundred percent focused on what they had to do. An entire family was dead. A little girl had survived. Had that really been the true intention of the murderer? Why? There were more questions than answers, as always when they faced a truly difficult case, but now there was a question that unsettled Fate more than any other. Was it truly her own name, the one written on the wall of the closet? And if that was the case, why?

"Although some terrible events can never be avoided, Lucino," Fate said as she looked at the empty and dark streets from the car's window. "They draw nearer to us like a storm or the darkness in the middle of the ocean. There is nothing we can do to avoid them."

Vice, who was now driving the car instead of Lucino, tightened his grip on the steering wheel. He knew why Fate was in that somber mood. "We are going to catch that bastard, Fate."

Traditionally, that would have been Fate's line, although with another choice of word. Although she appreciated Vice's effort, they would have to do much more than just words of encouragement for each other.

"We have to, Vice or more people are going to die."

— X —


	2. Unexpected Meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated E for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.
> 
> TRANSLATOR'S NOTES: Thanks for reading, it's very nice to see so many readers interested in the story and would love to read what you think so far!
> 
> The new soundtrack for the chapter is "Angels" by "WithinTemptation.

* * *

**The Legacy** by Aleksei Volken

**Chapter 2. Unexpected Meetings**

_Sparkling angel  
I believe  
You are my saviour  
In my time of need  
Blinded by faith  
I couldn't hear  
All the whispers  
The warning's so clear_

— X —

**Suburban area of Midchilda City.  
Day 12, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 23:30 hrs**

" _I look at them from afar, I am not on the front row, but not that far away either. Just enough to be able to feel the mood and listen to the scared whispers coming from the bystanders… to smell their fear. It's amusing to see the play they set up, how they pretend to have everything under control; it pleases me to see the mobilization of resources. And everything for me! It's hard to repress the smile as I see them walking one way to the other, in a hurry, giving out orders and instructions, keeping the people away. Even behind the security perimeter, I can see some of their faces as they get out of the house. They really appreciate my work of art. Especially her. I saw her as soon as she arrived. I was waiting for her. I was counting on her to show up… I expect her to be my opponent, no, actually, I am looking forward to it. She is finally here, and she is looking at me, through my work of art. I left a message for her. She's really good, it's a shame she is already gone. I cannot wait to see her again; I cannot wait for our next reunion… Fate."_

"Signum," Zafira called her quietly, Fate had just left the scene and the pink-haired Lieutenant was giving instructions to disperse the people that had gathered around despite how late it was, due to the lights from the emergency vehicles.

Without further explanations, Zafira handed her a slim device with the latest information that had been delivered. There was no need to say anything else, they had been together on special forces of the army for more than ten years; they had been warriors, fighting back to back in the most complicated situations, but on top of everything they had lived as military, they had grown up together, the same family had adopted them, they were siblings in a lot of ways and for the past two years they worked together better than anyone else on Fate's team. Zafira had been working on Fate's team for three years already, where he was admitted after retiring from the army and a year later, he was able to talk Signum into joining the team as well. Neither regretted their decision. They both were extremely loyal to Fate, and the fact that their other sister, daughter of the family that fostered them for so many years, Hayate Yagami, was everyone's boss, had nothing to do with their loyalty to Fate; as their superior officer, she had earned it on her own.

"Goddammit, this is going to be a serious problem," Signum mustered after quickly reading the confirmation of the family's identity that had been murdered and another piece of information relevant to the case. "We need to inform Fate and Hayate, immediately."

— X —

**TSABs Headquarters, Section 6 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes  
Midchilda City. Day 13, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 01:00 hrs.**

It was already past one in the morning when Fate and part of her team gathered at the division's meeting room. Hayate was already waiting for them for a few minutes earlier, reviewing the information that had been piling up, along with her personal assistant, agent Shari Finieno and another experienced field agent in charge of another investigation team and who also worked as a liaison with Fate's team, Griffith Lowran.

"It took you long enough, guys," Hayate pointed out, very serene despite the hour and the latest news, "are you going to tell me there was a lot of traffic at midnight?"

"Hayate… good evening, or morning," Fate said, barely glancing at her watch and without giving Hayate any additional explanation, she turned on her mobile device where she had already put together all the information both Signum and Shamal had provided, giving the commands to sync it with her boss's device so they would share the information they both had.

"We had an emergency stop, Colonel Yagami," Alto explained instead of Fate, as Vice and Lucino briefly greeted everyone and took their places at the table.

Hayate arched a brow, without breaking her gaze from Fate.

With a sigh and knowing that her boss would not let it go until she knew what had delayed them, Fate briefly explained the little incident on which they had intervened and she was about to begin debriefing the case they had in their hands, however, Hayate did not let it slide.

"That type of task does not fall into our plate, Fate," Hayate commented intrigued. Signum had already given her the details of the crime scene and she had also let her know of her concerns about Fate, and not just because of the message they had found. "Is everything all right?"

"Of course," Fate assured, "and I understand your point Hayate. It's just that it did not seem right to walk away just like that, leaving those girls alone."

Fate and Hayate looked at each other for a few seconds, until Hayate decided to drop it for the time being and focus on the main issue they had. She would have a word with Fate later.

"The identity of the family has been confirmed. Megane Alpine and her husband, Logan, as well as their children, Dyane and Méhari. She was, up until a few years ago, a renowned researcher from Midchilda's University, and Logan Alpine was a well-recognized parliamentarian," Hayate related what she had already read on the reports that she had been given, still staring at Fate. "Needless to say, our superiors are more than interested in having this case solved quickly and efficiently. Let's just say Logan Alpine had important powerful friends that are very… restless now."

Fate's mobile device streamed to the large holographic screen a picture of the Alpine family, like the ones they had seen in the house during their inspection.

"What about the girl Shamal brought back? And just as important, what do we know about the girl that appears in the Alpine family pictures?" Lucino asked as Fate remained silently observing the screen where the images were passing one after the other.

"The girl in the pictures is Lutecia, the youngest daughter of the Alpine family. A few years ago she was kidnapped and the case remains open since there has not been any information regarding her whereabouts. After that incident, Dr. Alpine retired from her work at the University. Although civilian participation is not allowed in situations like that one, Megane Alpine devoted herself to finding her daughter. To put it simply, the Alpines were very influential on who the investigating team was, and she was in constant communication with them."

"Who is leading that investigation?" Fate final asked.

"Section 9, Regius Gaiz's team," Hayate said, and Fate could not avoid the instant feeling of animosity as soon as she heard the name. Neither her, nor Hayate was very appreciated by the Special Agent and General Gaiz, but given the circumstances, she deduced he would not have any choice but to tolerate them both since apparently, they would have to collaborate together.

As soon as she had transmitted Fate all the information she had regarding the case of the Alpine girl, Hayate answered Lucino's other question.

"Dr. Alpine was completely obsessed with the search for her daughter. I could imagine in part, it was due to her own guilt since the girl was with her at the university when she went missing. A couple of months ago, Logan Alpine decided to foster the girl we found at the scene. We do not know what motivated him to do it, but we could speculate several reasons for that. The important thing is that the girl is with Shamal and according to our records her name is Vivio Kaiser."

The flutter of a memory stirred in Fate's mind. Kaiser. She was sure she had heard that name before. Everyone remained in silence waiting for Hayate to give them more information, although, it was not exactly what they were hoping for.

"The girl's file is classified, and it is unavailable to us."

"What?" her subordinates exclaimed all at once.

"How do they expect us to solve this case if they keep information classified?" Fate asked, this time slightly more distressed from her usual self.

"Don't think I have not emphasized that point," Hayate clarified, trying to temper down the Enforcer. "There are very few things that have the classified level that our division cannot access. This is one of them. I have already sent a request to Admiral Lindy and Deputy Director Gracia, but the Directive Council, as well as the committees from the other divisions, need to approve it as well, so we need to wait and work with everything we have available right now."

"So, it has THAT level of classified information," Vice said, pondering the situation.

"That's right," and unlocking the rest of the information she did have for everyone, Hayate continued explaining, "Vivio Kaiser, six years old, for the past two months the Alpines have been her legal guardians and her file has the highest classification level for government secrecy. That's it, there are no known family members or specific background information available. Regarding her current physical state, we need Shamal to inform us of the checkup she performed."

Exactly at that moment, almost as if Hayate had requested her to arrive as soon as she had made the point, the automatic door opened, silently sliding to give way to Shamal Yagami, who, just like Zafira and Signum, had been fostered since a very early age by Hayate's parents before they passed away.

For all practical purposes, Hayate always respected Fate's position as the superior officer of all her siblings, Shamal was the one in charge of the scientific research operations for Fate's team and even though she had never belonged to the military, like Signum and Zafira, she was superbly efficient, as well as affectionate, and Fate could not consider her team without her. The way Fate saw it, her team was the best due to the quality of people that integrated it and not due to their connections, as many envious claimed.

"Welcome," Hayate greeted her. "You could not have timed it better."

"Fate, guys," Shamal greeted in turn. "Are Signum and Zafira not back yet?" she asked while syncing her device just as Fate and Hayate had done to share the data she had collected.

"They should be back any moment now. They were wrapping up some final details from the scene and they would be on their way here," Fate explained before asking, "How is the girl doing?"

Although she seemed to be slightly disappointed that Signum and Zafira had not returned yet, she was prompt to answer. "Physically she is fine. All the tests indicate she has no injuries and she does not present evidence of any kind of abuse," imperceptibly, all present sighed relieved, "however the psychological part is an entirely different matter. The girl is in shock. We were not able to get any reaction from any stimuli, so we opted to sedate her for the next few hours so she can have more time to recover. We hope that as she recovers consciousness gradually, there might be a positive reaction."

"What would be considered a positive reaction?" Fate wanted to know.

"Considering the current state of things, pretty much anything, Fate. She was catatonic, any vital reaction would be an opportunity. If she cries, if she gets angry, anything at all, as small as it may seem would give us something."

"So, right now, we are completely at a standstill with her," Vice added.

"That's right. We need authorization for her personal records and we will need her to show any sign that might indicate she is recovering from the shock," Hayate said, deeply staring at the data she had from her as if she were hoping that the answers would suddenly appear on the screen.

"We do not know the most important thing either," Fate said at last, "why did the killer leave her alive?"

"Maybe if we are able to figure that out, we can solve the case, Fate," Griffith, who had not spoken yet and who was considering everything that the team was bringing to the table, said.

Looking at Hayate, Fate finally asked the thing that had been circling in her mind ever since they were informed the girl's file was classified.

"If that girl has a classified file, why have they left her under our care? And even more so, why are we in charge of the case?"

Hayate barely smirked. She knew that detail would not get past Fate.

"Let's just say we have our reputation, Fate." Section 6, which Hayate commanded, and the investigation unit that Fate led were widely recognized for their efficiency in handling complex and extremely dangerous situations. The truth was that they had the best technical and field teams and their specialty was the most violent or dangerous cases. "I must also admit that our familial bond is useful, sometimes," Hayate finished widening her smile.

As they reviewed the rest of the information, Hayate explained how the case had been escalating in the priority levels and the importance for all of them on the upcoming days. Once it had been confirmed the victims were the parliamentary and his family and were also one of the members had a file highly classified, the calls that had been going back and forth among the different political and military elites until they made their way to the Deputy Director of the Special Units, Special Agent Carim Gracia, to the Administrative Director of Special Units, Admiral Lindy Harlaown, who incidentally was Fate's adoptive mother, and even to Admiral Gil Graham, Head of TSABs Tactical Unit _,_ who also happened to be Hayate's legal guardian.

The case had been assigned the highest priority and the admirals had no doubts on who were the ones required to solve it.

"How can they keep classified information from us, if that's the case?" Fate wanted to know now more frustrated than before. "How are we even supposed to know if this atrocious crime is related or not to the classified information?"

"Easy there, Fate, believe me, I understand your concern. We have to wait," Hayate tried to appease her, being even more emphatic than before. "Director Gracia and Admiral Lindy must be pulling all kinds of political strings right now."

But unlike her boss, Fate had been in that house, felt and seen everything.

"No, Hayate, this time you do not understand. Have you seen the pictures of what was done to them?" Fate was standing in front of her boss with a challenging attitude. "I was there Hayate. Whoever did all that is not human. Not at least in the sense of what we consider a human being. This goes beyond any political games," Fate emphasized her words even more by displaying pictures of the crime scene on the screen.

"Whoever did this," she said pointing at the images, with the rage burning in her crimson eyes barely restrained, "shows absolutely no remorse or guilt, notice how none of the victims are blindfolded and look at the distribution. The goddamned bastard set up a sophisticated representation in that crime. He wanted his victims to see him, and not only that, he wanted for them to see each other and what he was doing to them."

"What do you mean?" Hayate asked intrigued, sitting on the edge of her seat. Fate was damn good at her job, her team was the best and there was something that was deeply disturbing her about the case, Hayate could tell with absolute certainty.

"Notice the distribution of the bodies, one in each cardinal point. According to the information from the forensic team that Shamal sent us, the last one to die was the father, Logan Alpine, but judging by the magnitude and type of wounds that were inflicted, it all seems to indicate that he initiated the process by torturing him and he was the one who took the longest to die. The second to last one was Mrs. Alpine. Just like her husband, she must have seen him torturing her husband, and then in the middle of her own torture, she lived long enough to see him kill her children."

After a few seconds of stressful silence, Hayate had to admit that Fate's explanation seemed the most plausible given the facts they had. Everyone was quiet.

"This could be one of the worst cases we have ever had to deal with, Colonel Yagami," Griffith said, and added, "Enforcer Testarossa is right, we need all the information we can gather and it is quite possible that classified information could give us a lead. I do not think the Alpine family has targeted at random."

"No, there was nothing left at random, that's for sure. There are still way too many unanswered questions, but what scares me is what we already do know," Fate said glancing again at the family's picture on the screen. "This individual was utterly cruel to do everything he did to this family, he prepared it like the stage for a theatrical representation, and he was cold-blooded enough to leave us a message inside the missing girl's closet, and for some sick and twisted reason, even left a witness."

Everyone remained silent for a while until Fate spoke.

"When you speak again with Director Gracia, tell her that maybe this case and the case of the kidnap of the Alpine's youngest daughter might be connected.

Hayate opened her eyes completely surprised at Fate's suggestion. "That'd be…"

"Yes, I know," Fate agreed somberly, "It would be even more terrible, but I believe we are past proving we are dealing with a monster."

After all the pending activities were distributed, Hayate left to continue pressing for access to the little Vivio's classified records. Fate, along with Alto and Griffith, were recreating the scene up to the last detail, trying to determine the modus operandi of the killer; Shari, Lucino, and Vice were researching the agency's large database about the life and background of each member of the family, as well as any other case remotely similar to the one they had at hands.

Signum and Zafira joined them at some point before dawn, bringing with them the latest information from the crime scene, while Shamal went back to the wing of the medical research facility to check on the little girl.

Their only breakfast consisted of the coffee they had brought to let them endure their fatigue and they kept pushing hour after hour until the sun was up high in the clear sky of Midchilda's sky.

— X —

**Residential Suburban area to Midchilda's Rigelian University  
Day 13, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 06:00 hrs.**

Nanoha woke up with the first ray of sunlight as she always did. She liked to get up, unlike her friends who would not even consider opening their eyes yet, prepare herself a refreshing natural beverage or a hot cup of tea (depending on the weather) and sit by the large window of her apartment and enjoy the sunrise.

They were a few minutes of peace and quiet in her day, but for Nanoha, they were wonderful. There she could think, plan, breathe, and listen to herself. She was not a solitary person, although as a child, she had spent a considerable amount of time by herself since she was the youngest daughter and her parents worked and her siblings helped them; that had changed ever since Suzuka and Alisa became her friends.

However, those morning moments, she liked to have them for herself only.

It was one of those days that despite being chilly outside, she had stepped out to the balcony. The cold breeze made her slightly shiver but she stayed there a few minutes, with her eyes closed just feeling the cold and breathing in deeply.

She was somewhat disconcerted. Her first thought as soon as she woke up had been of the sad look of that agent that had basically saved her the previous night.

Her second thought had been also of the agent, walking alone by the street in the middle of the night after she had left them in her building.

" _Why am I thinking about a stranger?"_ she asked herself as she tried to calm down.

It was hard to explain. She opened her eyes and realized she was really shivering from the cold. " _I'd better get back inside before I really get sick,"_ she thought, before returning to the warmth of her living room.

Almost involuntarily, as she prepared a light breakfast and got her things ready to go to the university the image of the blonde agent kept returning to her mind.

Almost lazily, her thoughts went by, remembering Alisa's teases and she admitted that maybe it would have not been a bad idea to ask for her number or at least to have asked what her name was. After what she had done for them, the least they could do would have been to bring her some chocolates.

As she was combing her long hair, almost automatically, in front of the mirror, she suddenly was struck with a better idea, surely one of the exquisite cakes her parents prepared at their restaurant would be perfect. Maybe if she asked at the Agency…

" _Silly me, what would I ask them? What's the name of the blonde agent that last night was around the residential area of the university saving three idiots in the middle of the night? Get it together, Nanoha, as gentle and decent she had been, surely you are never going to see her ever again."_

And for some reason, that thought caused an unusual feeling of sadness in Nanoha.

— X —

**TSABs Headquarters, Section 6 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes  
Midchilda City. Day 13, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 12:00 hrs.**

Even though it had been an intense morning for everyone and Fate was sure she had done a lot, a part of her felt like she had not gotten anywhere. The truth was that, after all those hours, they were not certain what their next move should be.

The family did not seem to have any evident enemy, nor had they been involved in any kind of political problems, or with the law, and except for the incident of their daughter's kidnap, there had never been anything out of the ordinary with the family.

After so many hours, Fate felt frustrated, they had no lead to follow. She was about to send her team out to fieldwork to see what else they could find when, being noon already, Hayate returned with news.

"Finally," Hayate said, sitting on her chair with a triumphant expression.

"Did you get it?" Fate ventured, sitting on the edge of the chair and looking at her friend and boss, expectantly.

"Let's say it was the result of teamwork. Admiral Lindy helped a lot. You will have to pay her a visit for sure, my dear Fate… I promised her you would," Hayate told her, but Fate was, at the moment more than eager to see the file. But before they could start to review it, Hayate warned everyone with an unusual seriousness in her.

"Although this information is crucial, keep in mind the level of classification it holds. Right now, we have been given the clearance to see it, but the level of sensitivity of this information has not changed, so it is now our responsibility as well to keep it." And she added even more seriously, "As soon as you see it, you will understand, I trust you all will handle it responsibly."

As Hayate stood up, the screen showed the image of a very young man with a piercing, almost unsettling, look. Each of his eyes was of two very different colors. The right one was deep green and the left one, crimson, very similar to Fate's own eye color. It was an uncommon trait. Standing next to the screen, Hayate looked at it and then looked at her subordinates.

"Does anyone know who he is?" she asked her team.

They all struggled a little, Fate somehow felt the image was familiar, but she could not shape a single concrete idea.

"Doctor Sankt Kaiser?" Lucino ventured, frowning and seeming not entirely convinced as she looked at the image.

"Correct, well done, Lucino," Hayate corroborated, looking proudly at her subordinate. "Dr. Sankt Kaiser was a well-known researcher who almost one hundred years ago fell into infamy for some theories he propounded regarding the improvement of mankind. The doctor considered it was not necessary to wait for natural selection to act by itself and that it needed some push here and there."

Then Fate remembered. It was a very old memory and maybe it was the reason that she did not associate it as quickly with his job. She had heard that name, Sankt Kaiser, from the voice of her mother, Precia Testarossa, a renowned researcher from Midchilda's University.

"He was very bright and very young, as well, but he performed several experiments, highly unethical ones, that sent him and his theories into infamy, killing his job in the process. It was so controversial that he was even tried because of them but he killed himself before ending up in jail, he was barely thirty years old," Lucino added to Hayate's explanation.

"How do you know all that?" Fate asked intrigued, looking at the face on the screen. The man's face looked familiar, but it did not entirely match the image that was appearing through her memories."

"Because we reviewed all the background information of the Alpine family. Before retiring from the university and her research, Megane Alpine was gathering all the information regarding Dr. Kaiser and his investigations," Lucino answered. "It was one of the many lines of investigation the doctor was pursuing."

"Apparently, the information we had available about Dr. Kaiser was not entirely correct, Lucino," Hayate said and then showed an image of the same man, but easily forty years older than the first picture that had been shown. And then that's when Fate got up from her chair. That was the image she had in her memories.

"Dr. Kaiser did not kill himself or died, as the files indicate," Hayate said, showing them the information of the classified file. Kaiser's investigation was controversial, but also of high interest for some influential people in the high levels of power. The doctor was offered to keep his research going on in exchange for a pardon, but for practical purposes, he would have to disappear and waive all his rights. He literally became a state prisoner.

"For many years, Kaiser kept developing his research exclusively for the military, needless to say, that they are all ultra-secret. At the death of the doctor, by natural causes, one of his main investigations was finished but there was not yet the technological advancements required to make it actually happen."

As Hayate kept talking, Fate had gotten closer to her and the image on the screen. A bad feeling was starting to hurt in her chest.

"Kaiser had an army of scientists working with him, so even if he died, he left detailed instructions that remained to be followed under the supervision of renowned researchers. On several occasions, special military government investigation teams tried to carry them out, unsuccessfully, until recently when they did."

Then the screen showed little Vivio wearing something very similar to a hospital robe.

"Vivio Kaiser is the final result of Dr. Sankt Kaiser's research to create a perfect human being. That's why not only her file is highly classified, she herself IS a classified subject."

"What the hell does he mean by a perfect human being?" Fate asked with disdain. She detested any research that involved living beings, and even more so with human beings.

"I think Shamal will have to explain that to us, with the information I gave her," Hayate said, looking at the scientist and waiting.

Breathing in deeply, the blonde doctor explained. "According to what I have been able to see here, the subject would have to show an extraordinary capacity of cellular regeneration, extreme resistance to diseases, a high intellectual coefficient, and extended longevity, among many other, let's call them, qualities."

"So, that girl we have under our care is all of that?" Fate could no longer hold back her expectation, everything was very interesting, but she really wanted to know what they were really dealing with.

"No, as far as I can tell from the examination, everything indicates she is a very normal girl," Shamal expressed, glancing a worried look at her device. "With the notable exception that she is a genetic copy of Dr. Kaiser."

"Does that mean she is something like Dr. Sankt Kaiser's daughter?" Signum asked. She was part of the tactical field support team, she was not part of the research like Shamal, Lucino, and the others, so although she understood everything they were saying, just like Fate, she got annoyed with all the big words.

"Not his daughter, Signum. Vivio is literally a clone, modified, of Dr. Sankt Kaiser."

Everyone was gaping.

"Is it possible our own government allowed such…?" Fate could not even finish the phrase; she really could not find the word that would let her accurately describe what she was hearing.

"Not only have we allowed Fate, but we have also financed it. During all these years, highly specialized and secret teams have been working with Kaiser's theories. Of course, this cannot be made public under any circumstance. The technique in which Vivio was… conceived… is a state secret," Hayate finished.

Fate's mind was running around with many more questions but deep down she knew Hayate would be unable to answer them. Maybe no one would. However, they had a job to fulfill and the questions pertaining to THAT investigation would have to be answered.

"Was Megane Alpine part of the researchers in… Vivio's project?" Fate asked, as detachedly as possible.

"Yes," has Hayate's blunt answer. "However, she was not the researcher in chief. The leader of that project was Doctor Jail Scaglietti. In fact, Dr. Scaglietti still performs some research for our Department of Defense, although his investigations are no longer classified. He was also responsible for monitoring and following up on little Vivio."

After a few seconds in which they were still processing the information they had just received, Vice threw another question.

"Are we certain then that Megane Alpine was, in fact, aware of Vivio's origin? Did her husband?"

Hayate was looking back on the digital to make sure, but Lucino was already on it, ready to answer her teammate's question first.

"According to the information on the file, Doctors Scaglietti and Alpine were the only ones who knew. Vivio's treatment was under their supervision of the Doctor and his team."

"Good," Fate said, taking back control of the meeting, "now that we have that information we can at least start digging on that side. We all have to know by heart all this information Hayate provided us, as no one can keep any of it on their mobile devices. Lucino, make sure to keep a hard copy safeguarded here and keep in close communication with everyone in case we need any information. You will gather and analyze all the information we bring. All of us will send Lucino any additional information we collect."

After a brief pause to look at Hayate and receive her unspoken approval with just a look, Fate kept assigning duties.

"Vice, for the time being, stay with Lucino and put together a file with all the family's activities and contacts. We need to recreate their moments. The killer knew them, he had thoroughly studied them and knew when he could attack them."

"Signum and Shamal will come with me to Midchilda's University. We have to talk with Dr. Scaglietti. Even if he cannot give any details of Vivio's project, by the looks of it, we will need his help for the girl's recovery and maybe we will be able to give us other information."

Signum was standing with her arms crossed over her chest still looking at the screen and just nodded assertively. She was already ready for action, and knowing Fate well, they would not take long to get in their way.

"Zafira, go back to the crime scene and take a closer look, find if anyone saw someone lurking around the house or someone that seemed out of place marauding the area; find the videos from the security cameras of the street for the past two weeks. Maybe our friends from the police section, the Nakajima's, can help us again."

Just like Signum, the hunk was always ready as well and got going as soon as he was given the order. Zafira was an outstanding tracker, so if the killer had been careless and left the minimum trace, he was bound to find it.

Shari and Griffith would usually stay working with Hayate, and she had self-volunteered to contact Regius Gaiz's team and search into the kidnap of the Alpine's little girl, Lutecia. Although it could not be substantiated yet, a possible connection could not be ignored either. Hayate was asking Alto to help them as well when Fate interrupted her.

"If it's okay with you, I also have a special assignment for Alto."

"No problem, but I thought you had everything covered," Hayate replied arching a brow.

"Yes, the usual, but this is… unusual, and maybe, Alto, I will be needing your help," the blonde replied with an expression indicating she was slightly worried.

Alto also wanted to know what the Enforcer had in mind for her, so she moved forward to receive her assignment.

"I would like Alto to investigate who were the researchers that were working on Dr. Kaiser's theories and what they were up to," Fate said, without stopping to breathe, knowing how that would sound to Hayate.

"Fate…! Kaiser's research was and still is classified," Hayate replied bewildered.

"I know that. I don't want to know the content of the research," Fate insisted with determination, she really did not want to know anything about it, but she could feel it in her gut that there was something wrong about it and she preferred to cut it clean. "I want to know the name of the researchers involved and their current status."

"I don't understand why you need that, Fate. How are we going to explain that requirement to our superiors?" Hayate was truly baffled by Fate's request.

Fate took a deep breath and tried to sound as convincingly as possible, if her hunch was right, then maybe Hayate could understand it.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Hayate, it's not rational and maybe I cannot entirely explain it just yet. What I would like to know is if any other person related to Kaiser's research also died from… suspicious causes."

"You mean…. Murdered?" Hayate replied dryly.

"It could be," Fate answered, and the two young women looked at each other. They had known each other for a long time and more than co-workers, they were friends.

Hayate realized she had to talk to Fate soon rather than later. And Fate, on her side, was thinking how to avoid having Hayate trying to talk to her. For the time being, Hayate had to make a decision. Unfortunately, Fate was seldom wrong, even with her hunches.

"Fine, Alto can come with me and look into that," Hayate conceded, but before Fate could enjoy her victory, she added, "But tonight, you and I will have a word."

Fate had no choice but to agree, as she left the room, followed by Signum and Shamal to go to the University.

— X —

**Midchilda's Rigelian University, Neuroscience and Applied Sciences Building  
Midchilda City. Day 13, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 13:00 hrs.**

It had been a while since Nanoha had returned from her lunchtime, but she had stayed with Alisa and Suzuka longer than she expected in the Literature Department, where her two friends were doing their master's degree; reason for which she was now running back, despite knowing she shouldn't, as fast as she could, down the hallway of her building with her sparkling-clean white lab coat flowing on her back.

She only hoped for none of her students, or even worse, the doctor himself, to see her.

Deep down, in the middle of her frantic sprint, she thought it was a blessing that the area was almost always deserted. Almost.

Her positive thoughts were abruptly halted as she turned down a corner towards the main hall that led to her lab and slammed with the person that was decidedly striding in the opposite direction to her.

So strong was the impact that neither was able to avoid ending up on the floor.

"Ouch!" Nanoha whimpered while her hand reached for her forehead where she felt a sharp pain. She had headbutted against something equally hard. As she tried to get back on her feet, unsuccessfully, she was looking for whatever or whoever she had bumped into, when her blue eyes met a crimson gaze that looked very familiar. Maybe because that look had not left her mind at all that morning.

Fate, who had ended up under Nanoha, was also trying at the same time to get up and rub her chin, where the forehead of the young redhead had crashed into, leaving a red mark on the fair skin; trying to do both things at once was turning out to be not a very good idea.

When her eyes met the blue gaze of the other girl, they both were frozen with surprise, unable to move, just looking into each other.

"Hmmm… Do you need any help, Fate?" Signum's firm voice broke both women out of their spellbound, making them both refuse the offer for help in perfect sync; said sync was not apparent when they both tried to move at the same time, and too fast, for their precarious balance. The only thing they succeeded in was in getting in the way of the other, and for Nanoha's hand that was barely keeping her from Fate's body, to slip again, making her come down crushing the blonde again.

"Oh… wait, wait… let me help you," Shamal's gentle voice was heard as she bent down to offer some help to the red-haired, who was finally able to stand up.

Fate got up by her own means since Shamal was quickly checking Nanoha's head, who was starting to show a bump and Signum was merely glancing at her, from her usual position, standing with her arms crossed.

Upon Fate's slightly abashed look, Signum just responded calmly, "You said you didn't want any help."

"Oh, I am so sorry," Nanoha was finally able to articulate, with a blush expanding through her cheeks. It was already embarrassing that she had literally run over someone in her hurry, but now she was particularly flustered that it had been precisely THAT person, the one person she was sure she would never see again in her entire life.

Fate, fixing up her uniform and shaking off the invisible dust, was also stunned. At first, she had not recognized the girl from the events of the night before, but the intensity of the blue gaze had captivated her during those brief seconds. Then she had remembered her and had also fallen enthralled just looking at her.

That fact bothered her, and also, what was that girl doing running like that?

"I wasn't aware that running like that in the hallways was allowed in the University," she said at last without hiding the annoyance in her voice.

"Fate!" Shamal exclaimed, looking at her disconcerted. The Enforcer was usually very gentle, serious, but kind, and that comment added to that tone, was unnatural for her. They were completely off, actually.

"There's no sign that forbids it either," Signum pointed out, looking around at the walls, a comment which earned her another stern look, this time from Shamal. The comment was not helping at all with their situation.

Nanoha was only looking at Fate, she could almost touch her discomfort and she was feeling terribly embarrassed.

"Uh... I… didn't… it doesn't matter if it is forbidden or not… I am truly sorry. I know it's not proper to be running like that. I… was late and Dr. Scaglietti is very strict when it comes to the time schedules and, well, I was trying to hurry…"

"What did you say?" As soon as Scaglietti's name had been mentioned, Fate had gotten closer and took the redhead by the arm with more strength than was necessary or even politically correct.

Nanoha, disconcerted, looked at Fate and then at the hand on her arm, without understanding and without deciding whether to answer the question or getting off the blonde's grip.

"Hey… I get it, what I did was wrong, and you are angry, but don't you think you are overreacting here?" she said looking dead-serious at Fate, without noticing she was talking very casually to her and not in a more proper respectful way.

"Fate, wait, please," Shamal intervened, smiling in a friendly way, taking Fate by the arm and pulling her a little so she would let go of the young researcher. "I propose we all calm down and introduce ourselves, for starters. It was a very surprising meeting, Miss…" and pausing, she waited for Nanoha to introduce herself so they could do things the right way.

"Takamachi. Nanoha Takamachi," the young woman introduced herself. She answered Shamal's question, but she was still looking slightly flustered at the blonde in front of her.

Fate finally had let go of her and was very serious, standing next to Shamal.

"Nice to meet you Miss Takamachi! We are all special agents from TSAB. I am Shamal Yagami," she said slightly bowing politely. "Lieutenant Signum Yagami," she said amicably pointing at Signum who barely nodded, "and Enforcer Fate Testarossa." Fate did not even make a slight effort to nod.

" _Fate_ ," Nanoha thought without understanding why knowing that still seemed somehow important to her. " _Her name is Fate."_

"Now, regarding Dr. Scaglietti, you just mentioned…" Shamal started saying as if she was waiting for her to finish the sentence for her.

"Yes, I was saying he does not like for his assistants to be late… it actually bothers him a lot. And shoot, it's already so late!" Nanoha exclaimed as she looked at the time and almost ran again. "He will be very upset now for sure."

"Wait," Fate said, grabbing her from the arm again, effectively stopping her short.

"Is this a natural controlling habit of yours with anyone you just met?" Nanoha said, half-surprised and half-annoyed by the blonde's attitude, this time shaking herself off from her grip. "I already apologized, and I really have to go."

"We did not just meet," Fate pointed out. "We met last night."

Signum and Shamal shot each other a questioning look and then looked at the two young women even more intrigued. Neither was aware of the little incursion Fate along with the other agents had had the previous night.

"Same difference," Nanoha stated angrily. "Last night you were not considerate enough to introduce yourself. Had it not been for Agent Yagami's politeness just now…" Nanoha had already forgotten again about the time.

"I was just considerate enough to get you off some scumbags that were about to harm you," Fate countered, crossing her arms over her chest and standing with a defiant attitude in front of Nanoha.

"You don't know if they were going to harm us or not, you just swept by and arrested them. In fact, you did not even ask us anything. Now I can see why."

Now Nanoha was also standing defiantly in front of Fate.

"Of course they were going to attack you!" Fate exclaimed, losing her temper, stepping closer to the redhead. "It's unbelievable you did not call the police sooner. You were behaving like reckless teenagers."

"Hey, you can't just throw judgments like that," her blue eyes were sparkling with anger.

"Uhm… Fate, Miss Takamachi, could you…" Shamal insisted while Signum just kept observing the exchange between the two women, with an amused look. Now, that was a new side of Fate she had never seen before.

Despite Shamal's attempts, Fate and Nanoha kept bickering at each other without really listening to what the other was saying. Shamal finally had to grab Fat by the arm and drag her firmly since she was dangerously close to the young redhead.

Signum was already sporting a smile she could no longer hide.

"Please, please, maybe we can talk about that incident you mention and clear things up later, okay?" she said smiling and with her best conciliatory voice. "Miss Takamachi, I am not aware of the situation, but I am completely sure that Agent Testarossa's intentions were meant only to ensure your safety. Now, I understand you are in a hurry, but we are also looking for Dr. Scaglietti so if it was possible…"

With the distraction that the argument between Fate and Nanoha had caused, none of the women noticed the slightly distant presence of another person, until a masculine voice interrupted Shamal at that precise moment

"May I ask who you are, what do you want, and why are you delaying my assistant?"

Three of the four women turned around to face a tall man, with long hair and enigmatic golden eyes. According to the data, that was the man they were looking for and maybe he held the key to the case they were investigating.

— X —


	3. The past comes back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated E for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.
> 
> TRANSLATOR'S NOTES: It may be too late to say it (maybe I should put this note in the first chapter as well) but I know some of you already had read up to chapter 8 from the previously available translation. This version, however, corresponds to the re-edited version so chapters are longer, that is, they include additional information that does not change anything of the plot but adds to it and especially to the characters. Thanks for reading and for following and adding the story to your favorites. It really means a lot to Aleksei and me.
> 
> The new soundtrack for the chapter is "The Sound of Silence" by Atrocity, Wreck the 80s.

* * *

**The Legacy** by Aleksei Volken

**Chapter 3. The past comes back.**

_Hello darkness, my old friend  
I've come to talk with you again  
Because a vision softly creeping  
Left its seeds while I was sleeping  
And the vision that was planted in my brain  
Still remains  
Within the sound of silence_

— X —

**Midchilda's Rigelian University, Neuroscience and Applied Sciences Building.  
Day 13, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 15:30 hrs.**

Doctor Jail Scaglietti looked at the three agents seriously from his desk while he remained in an inscrutable silence as he listened to Fate's explanations regarding the reason that had led them to come looking for him.

Apparently, he had not been amused at all to find his lab assistant, who was already late, arguing in the middle of the hallway with the three agents. Despite they introduced themselves as TSAB agents, Scaglietti still scolded Nanoha for several minutes before letting the agents through to his private office, which actually made Fate feel a little guilty.

Maybe she owed the girl an apology after all.

To call the office a private one was somewhat ironic since it had only one wall. Both the large window with an impressive view of the University campus as well as the inside walls of the lab were completely transparent. Scaglietti almost casually mentioned that it allowed him to be keeping track of several matters at the same time.

Despite no longer working on classified research, all his assistants required special clearances and certification to be able to work in the lab. The disposition of the lab allowed him to keep a vigilant eye on everything that happened in it.

" _And surely on who is working in it,"_ Fate thought dryly, Nanoha Takamachi was not the only girl working with Scaglietti and certainly not the only pretty one either. Fate mentally chastised herself; that was not the moment to be thinking whether someone was pretty or not, she had many things to really worry about.

The walls were not the only thing that was transparent in the doctor's office. All his furniture was as well. It gave a really strange feeling to be in that room, so Fate blamed her ramblings on the sensation of feeling observed from every angle.

Scaglietti listened in silence to the news about the murder of the Alpine family, as well as having Vivio's custody being held by TSAB's Section 6, and the reasons why there were requesting his collaboration with the case, and although his face showed different expressions as he listened, he never once interrupted Fate.

He simply clenched his fists that were carefully placed over his transparent desk.

Fate was cautious enough to provide only the minimum required information of the incident. Fate knew that Scaglietti worked with confidential information, but she did not think that she had to give any more information to the doctor, except the essential to obtaining the information she needed.

"Finally, Doctor, our section has been cleared to know about a part of the investigation you were leading… about Vivio Kaiser. We would appreciate your collaboration very much," Fate finished.

After a long pause where Scaglietti's eyes never strayed from Fate's, he said, "Then you have absolutely no idea of who might have murdered Logan and Megan's family."

Fate pressed her lips trying to hide her anger and keep her Face from showing any reaction. The man proved to be certainly brazen.

"At this moment, we are following several investigation lines, Dr. Scaglietti. If your remark refers to whether we have a suspect, the answer is no. We do not have one… yet," Fate said staring back at Scaglietti, without flinching or doubting for a moment. They would not only have a suspect; they would find the responsible one and Fate was going to make sure he got what he deserved.

"I see, Enforcer Testarossa. Megane, besides being a fellow researcher, was a dear friend of mine, just like her husband. To learn about their demise in such a way has been… terrible for me. If there is any way in which I can collaborate without jeopardizing the confidentiality that I am bound by my research, I certainly will do it," he replied with equal serenity.

"Okay, the first thing we need is that you come with us to TSAB's headquarters. There are many questions we need to ask you and it is necessary to get the pertaining clearances, being there will make everything faster," Fate pointed out. "The next thing we need is to ask for your help to assist little Vivio. As Agent Shamal mentioned, the girl is in shock. Your help would be very valuable since we cannot rule out the possibility that she may have seen the killer."

"Of course, Agent Testarossa, you can count on my collaboration for both things," and after a brief pause, added, "Although for the second requirement I may need some help."

Fate frowned without really understanding what the doctor was talking about.

"Yes, Agent, you see, although Vivio IS a classified subject, part of her development process required that she could grow up like a normal girl. That was one of the reasons the Alpine family took care of her. Additionally to living with a family, one of my most advanced researchers worked with her twice a week. We needed for Vivio to develop trust in other individuals, so she could have, as much as possible, a normal life."

" _Talk about a normal life this poor girl is living,"_ Fate thought.

"Does that researcher you mention know the details about the Kaiser girl?" Signum asked, always straight to the point.

"Of course not," Scaglietti replied, "only that Vivio is a special being and, by specific request of her legal guardians, the Alpine, Vivio had to undergo a series of tests and be responsible for a special neuropsychological treatment."

"We cannot involve an external element to this case, Doctor, it's impossible," Fate denied determinedly.

"I understand your reluctance, Agent, but look at it like this, this person does not have to know the classified details, you have said yourself that the ins and outs of our investigation are not your objects of interest, but finding the killer. She would only have to help me with the little girl's treatment. Keep in mind all my collaborators go through a special clearance and a very strict security system. There are a lot of things at risk for me, as well."

Fate considered it for a moment and ultimately decided she could not make that decision alone; she would have to ask Hayate's authorization for that.

"Who is this person, Doctor? You have the required credentials, but I need to request superior clearance for someone else to enter the Tactical Division facility with you."

Fate kept to herself that said person would have a thorough background check on all available bases and maybe even some more before being able to set foot on their premises.

"I understand," Scaglietti nodded with a complicit smile, "much more than you can imagine, Agent Testarossa." That said, and without breaking eye contact with Fate, he extended a device and activated the data transmission.

Fate unlocked her device and let Scaglietti's information reach the open sector of her device, then broke the connection, projected the information just received, and immediately shared it with Shamal and Signum.

When the picture of an attractive blue-eyed redhead appeared on the screen she could not hold back the involuntary jolt and suffocated a protest in her throat, only to be able to ask with a controlled voice.

"Is that… the researcher you were talking about?"

"Correct," Scaglietti confirmed with pride in his voice, "Takamachi, Nanoha. She is one of the youngest scientists and a brilliant one in neurosciences, but her area of interest is neuropsychology."

"And this is the person you want to be helping you," Fate asked, still incredulous. Signum's lips ever so slightly curved into something that only Shamal was able to tell was a smile, which had her shaking her head in disapproval as she looked at her and Fate.

"Don't be fooled by my assistant's, let's say, explosive… temper, Agent. Takamachi is quite brilliant, and it's very important to add, she has an excellent relationship with Vivio. If there is anyone who can help our little girl, it's definitely her and not me."

Still reluctantly, Fate got up from her seat and called Hayate to briefly inform her of their progress and request a special clearance to access TSABs headquarters for Nanoha Takamachi.

— X —

"Right now, doctor?" Nanoha asked, surprised. Her shift ended at five p.m. and it was almost that time when he was informing her that she would have to go with TSAB's agents.

"Right now, Nanoha. Believe me, it's imperative. We will explain everything on the way," Scaglietti answered, signaling to leave whatever she was working on to another assistant.

During the long while where the agents had been at Scaglietti's private office, Nanoha had managed to pay attention to every movement there, not that there had been many. The three agents were particularly inexpressive while talking, and the same could be said about the doctor, so there had not been anything Nanoha could tell just by looking at them interacting.

She did find, however, that it had turned out to be particularly comforting to watch Agent Fate's long blonde hair and the golden sparkles that, every once in a while, appeared as the afternoon's sunlight filtered through the windows of the office.

At some point the blonde agent had stood up all of a sudden to make a call and Nanoha felt she was blushing; the movement had been so unexpected that she was almost sure that the agent had looked directly into her eyes and had noticed Nanoha had been staring at her through the transparent walls.

Her surprise could only increase when Scaglietti announced they had to go immediately to TSAB's headquarters with them.

So, at that moment, she was inside TSAB's official vehicle, between Shamal and Signum, trying her best not to stare too much at Fate, who was sitting in front of them, along with Dr. Scaglietti. The vehicle in which they were riding had two rows of seats facing each other, which would be useful to talk face to face, but was turning out to be putting Nanoha in the difficult situation of controlling herself from staring at Agent Testarossa.

Clad in a black uniform from head to toes, wearing elegant but practical boots in the same color, and gloved hands, she looked striking. Her boots made her almost as tall as Scaglietti and her hair sharply contrasted with her outfit. She had never seen black suiting anyone as good as it did with her. And her eyes, of that unusual crimson color, which looked even deeper and piercing under the reddish light of the late afternoon. Nanoha almost felt as if she was actually being touched when Fate's gaze landed on her, even if it was just for a brief moment.

Ever since the heated discussion they had engaged in the hallway of the laboratory, Fate had not spoken to her and just coldly glared at her every now and then.

Now, in the car, Fate was having a hard time trying to ignore the red-haired girl in between her two teammates, dressed in black just like her. Nanoha's white lab coat, which she had forgotten to take off, contrasted with her team's outfit, and even under the long coat Fate could clearly make out the curves of her body. Maybe she was as brilliant as Scaglietti claimed her to be, but surely the doctor had taken into account her other attributes.

As they both tried not to be too obvious about their glances to the other, Scaglietti was attempting to explain as vaguely as possible to Nanoha, what they would be doing. Nanoha was barely paying any attention to him, as she was only thinking that she had not wanted to be rude towards the agent, but her attitude had gotten her on her nerves.

She was almost certain they were around the same age, although Fate behaved as someone older. Almost like the other agent, Signum, cold and aloof, but she had also been overbearing and rough, not to mention incredibly hard-headed and stubborn regarding their point of discussion. At that moment, Nanoha had to accept, deep down, that she had also been stubborn and intransigent.

And to think that morning she could not take away the blonde agent from her mind and she even wanted to find a way to find out her name. Just seeing the stoic agent now, she felt silly about her idea to thank her kindness with chocolates or a cake from her family's restaurant. She surely would have had it thrown back.

With a sigh, she tried to concentrate again on what Scaglietti was explaining to her about what they would be doing at TSAB's offices until the doctor mentioned the words _help_ and _Vivio_ in the same sentence.

"Vivio?" Nanoha asked, surprised. Now the doctor had captured her entire attention. "What's wrong with Vivio?"

Fate arched a brow upon the girl's reaction. Apparently, the little girl did matter to the researcher. Hayate had told her she would make her final decision after personally speaking with researcher Takamachi, but that she initially was granting her access with the doctor with the purpose of interviewing them

The only thing the doctor had told Nanoha was that he required her assistance to help little Vivio and Nanoha had almost jumped from her seat in the car demanding more information.

"There's not much more we can tell you as of right now, Miss Takamachi," Fate intervened, getting ahead of Scaglietti's answer, she did not want him telling more than needed. "Our superior, Colonel Yagami will have an interview with you and will give you the necessary details."

"But Vivio… is she all right?" the red-haired insisted, almost begging Fate with her eyes.

Fate felt a tug in her heart seeing the sincere concern in the blue eyes; she herself was worried about the little girl, especially after she had seen the night before, and she was almost sorry for having spoken so harshly and coldly at the researcher. She was about to say exactly the same but in a gentler tone, when Shamal intervened.

Softly taking Nanoha's hand so she would look at her, the kind blonde spoke to her. "I understand your concern, Nanoha, please, just be patient. All of us here," she said emphasizing blatantly looking at Fate, "are worried about Vivio's wellbeing. That's why you are here, so please hang on a little longer, okay?"

Nanoha let out a sigh and nodded, squeezing Shamal's hand indicating she was all right. She then turned to recriminate.

"Couldn't you have said the same… Agent Testarossa? Couldn't you say that you were also worried about Vivio instead of that insensitive and… stupid answer?"

"I beg your pardon?" Fate asked, astounded by Nanoha's remark. "It might not look like it to you, Miss Takamachi, but I am doing my job as efficiently as possible. My job is not to worry but to solve a situation and that is what I am doing."

"I did not call you stupid, Agent," Nanoha emphasized even more upset now and engaging in a new stares duel with Fate. "I said your answer was insensitive and stupid, do you really need to do that in order to be efficient in your job?"

"Nanoha," Scaglietti stopped her as Fate blushed and remained gaping without being able to find an answer to the redhead. "As Agent Shamal has said, we are all worried about Vivi. Let's calm down and wait to talk to Colonel Yagami."

The rest of the way continued in a tense silence between Nanoha and Fate, despite Shamal's effort to have a civilized conversation.

As they got out of the car, while Fate led the way to Nanoha and Scaglietti and got their access ready, Shamal took the opportunity to grab Signum by the collar of her uniform and recriminate her for her null help.

"I don't know why you are so upset at me, Shamal. Testarossa is someone else, this case must be really getting under her skin because I had never seen her behaving like that," the woman calmly defended herself.

"That's no excuse for not helping!" her sister insisted, poking at her shoulder insistently, without getting any reaction from her.

"What was I supposed to do?" she finally asked, crossing her arms over her chest and shrugging, almost amused seeing her younger sister annoyed.

"Ahh! ...Signum, you are impossible, you know?" she said with a stern look and turned to leave, but then changed her mind and returned for a last remark. "No, you know what? You are not only impossible, you are even more of an idiot than Fate is."

Before Signum was even able to ask what that comment was supposed to mean, now Shamal turned and left her with the words in her throat.

Just at that moment, Zafira was coming back from her mission tracking possible suspects and had managed to overhear the last part of Shamal's argument.

"What did you do this time?" he asked calmly, standing next to Signum and watching Shamal walk away.

"Testarossa's fault."

"I heard Shamal clearly angry at you," he replied eyeing her from the corner of his eyes.

"She's probably pissed at both, but I can assure you, this time it was Testarossa's fault," was everything she said and started making her way inside the facility.

Zafira was inclined to think that was not entirely true, but there was not much more to do about that.

— X —

**TSAB's Headquarters, Section 6 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes  
Midchilda City. Day 13, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 20:00 hrs.**

Hayate had a private interview with Dr. Scaglietti and then with his assistant, which lasted for almost two hours. Fate did not know how much they had found out about the Takamachi girl in the database as she had been quite busy for the past two hours catching up with her team's investigations to even ask, so she was the first one to be shocked when, in the section's general meeting room, Hayate entered, followed by Griffith, Alto, Dr. Scaglietti, and Nanoha.

"Hey, guys," Hayate greeted them. "For those that do not know them yet, I would like to introduce Dr. Jail Scaglietti and his researcher, Nanoha Takamachi. They are both scientists from Midchilda's University and will give their assistance in some aspects of our ongoing investigation."

Hayate proceeded next to quickly introduce the members of her team, including the ones Nanoha and Scaglietti had already met. When it came to Fate's turn, she took the opportunity to ask Hayate for a private word with her.

"What the hell was all that?" she asked as soon as she closed the door of the meeting room leaving them both alone outside said room.

"An introduction?" Hayate answered, arching her brows. Fate's discomfort was clear, but she wanted to pinpoint where exactly it was coming from. Since morning she had been particularly surly; they had been working for almost forty-eight hours nonstop, so she could almost understand it, but something told her that her friend's and subordinate's uneasiness was not entirely due to being tired.

"Hayate…" Fate took a deep breath trying to settle down. Hayate was her childhood friend. They loved and respected each other, she was also her superior officer, she could not just strangle her. "I mean… what are you up to, bringing in those two to our work meeting?"

"Ah, now that makes more sense," her friend replied amused, but still a little worried. Fate's look clearly indicated she had all the intention of choking her with her own hands. Maybe she would settle down if she could see the big picture she had in mind. Although, it was probably best if she did it quickly and painlessly… or rather yet, with all the pain concentrated. Given Fate's current stat, that would probably be best.

"I asked them to help us with some parts of the research and with Vivio's case. They will participate as external consultants, Shari and Rein are handling the paperwork as we speak."

"What?! You cannot be serious, Hayate! Even if Scaglietti has the credentials that cleared him for the army's security, we are not the army... and that girl! How can we even be sure we can trust her, or that she has the required expertise or…"

"Fate, chill out," she said as her friend paced from one way to the other with an incredulous expression on her face. She could not believe Hayate had decided that without even discussing it with her. But Hayate had already expected that situation and without waiting for more of Fate's interruptions, she cut to the chase.

"I did not review it with you because this case has grown much more than we ever imagined in this morning's meeting."

That effectively brought Fate to a full stop.

"What happened?"

"Do you remember your hunch?" Hayate said, and at that moment, there was no more amusement in the sapphire blue eyes and that look invariably managed to turn Fate's stomach into a knot.

Fate only closed her eyes, mentally preparing herself, and asked, "How many?"

"Of the thirteen chief researchers that have led Sankt Kaiser's projects, seven have been murdered."

Fate opened her eyes, she was almost afraid to ask, but she had to. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Even before she tried again, Hayate spared her the trouble, although she tried to say it as gently as possible.

"Along with their families."

Fate's hands shot to her temples. It was too much and almost unbelievable.

"How is it possible there has not been a link established among the cases?" she asked at last. She did not know if the answer would be of any help, but her heart needed to know.

"That is something we will have to work on, but I can tell you this. There was no common MO. The cases happened years apart, in very different places and all the previous cases were handled by the local police departments. Besides, the researchers had no personal connection among them, even when they were acquainted with each other and it had been long since they had worked with the Sankt Kaiser Project. It never occurred to anyone to suspect before, until now."

"Good grief, Hayate… seven… seven families?" Hayate had also been shell-shocked by the information and she hated to see the veil of pain in Fate's eyes and even more what she had to say, but it was better to say it in private and not inside the room. That would give her friend to regain her composure.

"There is something else, Fate," she said breathing in deeply, there was not a single easy way to say what she was about to say. "When your mother and your older sister were murdered, Precia was the Chief Researcher of one of the Sankt Kaiser's investigations for our government."

"Are you saying…" Fate stuttered.

Hayate nodded lightly, "We will need to confirm, but if our supposition is correct, maybe your mother and sister's murder, your family's, may have been the first one."

Fate leaned on the wall and closed her eyes again.

_A little blonde girl was curled up at the bottom of one of the closets, it was dark, but she was sure Alicia would never think about looking for her there. They were in their mother's gigantic lab and Precia had already told them not to play in certain areas since it was very dangerous, and they were many times scolded because of it. Alicia, being the oldest one, always had it worse than her for letting her, the younger one, fool around._

_Suddenly, from her shelter, she managed to overhear her mother's energic voice. Surely, she was chastising Alicia because of her, again. She thought about coming out and stand for her sister, but she was also afraid. Her mother's voice became louder and in the middle of the darkness that she was in, she covered her ears and curled up even more._

" _Alicia… I have to be strong and rescue Alicia," she repeated to herself. "I need to save Alicia…"_

_Several hours later a little blonde girl was found holding on to the lifeless body of her elder sister, in the middle of the lab, completely stained with Alicia and Precia Testarossa's blood."_

"I could not save Alicia," Fate mumbled, opening her eyes with a blank stare.

" _To hell with the damn protocol,"_ Hayate thought before tightly hugging Fate.

"I am so sorry, Fate," she said after a while without letting her go, "I am sorry to have to tell you this and for making decisions about your team without consulting them with your first. After the introductions, I was going to step out of the room with you to explain all of this to you in private, but you were ahead of me… as usual."

Fate's arms were still hanging at her sides, but she slowly drew them to hug her friend.

After a while, Hayate separated a little bit from Fate without letting go of her and rested her hand on the blonde's shoulder while she softly caressed her face with the other one, "We have to get it together Fate, I know this isn't easy for you, but now more than ever, you need to be strong."

"Is there anything else I need to know?" Fate asked in a whisper, unintentionally tightening her hold on her friend's waist to keep her strength.

Before Hayate was able to answer, a masculine, slightly amused voice interrupted them.

"Wow! Are you coming out officially with your relationship? Maybe the hallway is not the best place for it, gals, although you took your sweet time…"

Hayate released Fate from her hold without any rush and turned to face the second-best investigator in her unit after Fate.

"Verossa," Hayate said with a stare that could have frozen the boldest one, "the one with terrible timing and who is not where he is supposed to be, is you."

"But you were the one who summoned me to the conference room, dear Colonel Yagami," the man answered standing in attention, but still with a big smile on his face.

"Twenty minutes ago, Verossa. You were supposed to be inside that room," Hayate finished giving the man no choice but to raise his hands showing his defeat, and proceeded to disappear from her boss's sight as quietly as possible.

Fate and Hayate remained a few moments in silence, Fate leaning on the wall with her arms crossed over her chest with her eyes fixed on the floor. Before Hayate was able to say a thing, Fate raised her head and announced with determination.

"No, Hayate. Do not even think about it."

Hayate got closer to touch her friend's shoulder but Fate stopped the hand in the air with a firm grasp.

"No… I know why you brought Verossa in, but I am NOT going to leave this investigation under any circumstance. I will go to the last consequences, but I will not drop it. You cannot pull me away from the investigation."

Hayate's blue gaze carefully eyed Fate. She could still see the fatigue in her friend, she could see the veil of pain in her eyes, but she also was able to see a clear determination. Her gaze did not look somber like it had looked a few minutes before, her eyes looked clear and bright.

"I figured you'd say something like that," she said after a while and looked at the gloved hand that still was grasping her hand. Fate followed her eyesight and released her. "Thank you," Hayate said and looked at her with a smile.

"I will not pull you from the case, Fate but given the circumstances, we will have to make some adjustments."

Hayate then explained how Alto had obtained the list of researchers that had been working on the other Sankt Kaiser's projects and started uncovering one tragic decease after another which led to going directly to Admiral Lindy and Deputy Director Carim. Director Carim felt the case was too large and that Fate was too close to it, so it was best if she sat that one out.

According to the Deputy Director of Special Units, Agent Verossa Acous, as the second most talented agent of Section 6, was the best replacement option for Fate. However, Hayate argued that the case would be too much to handle for any of their special agents. Since Fate's first hunch had proven to be more than correct, maybe the other she mentioned might have some truth to them too; if that was true, then the case was simply out of hands for any team.

One of Fate's theories considered the possibility of the kidnap of the Alpine's youngest daughter to be related to the subsequent murder of her family. The other possibility was that it would be related to the Sankt Kaiser's investigation projects. Neither theory had been ruled out. And any of the options were equally overwhelming.

The confirmation that someone had been murdering prominent scientists related to classified cases for at least the past twenty years, was already, by itself, too much.

"So I managed to convince Director Carim that I would lead the case, you would be the special agent in charge, and Griffith and Verossa's team will provide tactical support."

"So, we will all be involved," Fate, who had been listening to all the explanations without interrupting, added.

"It's too much for anyone to handle, Fate. Let's be thankful that we had not the case taken away from us and handed to Section 9. I am sure that when Gaiz finds out, he will turn green, but Admiral Lindy stands by you. She is sure you have the strength to carry this and she also mentioned she would request Admiral Graham's support."

"Although I suppose your tutor was already on the loop, right?" Fate said, smiling for the first time.

"Haha… just a little bit, Fate, just a bit. You know, I needed to pull some strings to get the names of the researchers in the Kaiser's projects to have them faster for you," Hayate replied with a mischievous smile on her lips, and inside she felt relieved to see Fate again, collected and confident of herself again.

"Thank you very much, Hayate, I will not let you down, you can be sure of that," Fate said, standing straight and staring at her friend.

"I have no doubts about that, Fate. I believe in you and I trust you, that's why I did what I did. However, I need you to promise me something."

Fate held her breath. "What?"

"I want you to promise that you will trust me as well. If there is something going on with you, I want you to come to me and let me help you."

Hayate's deep gaze did not move from her and neither her hand let her go, as she waited for her answer.

"I promise, Hayate," Fate replied solemnly before taking back her hand and opened the door for her boss to get back to the meeting room where everyone was waiting for them.

— X —


	4. Findings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated E for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.
> 
> TRANSLATOR'S NOTES: Thanks for reading, the comments, the follows, and the favorites. We almost didn't make it to publish today... between work and other upcoming stories... but I'm very glad to see people are closely following the story.
> 
> The new soundtrack for the chapter is "The Kiss of Dawn" by HIM

* * *

**The Legacy** by Aleksei Volken

**Chapter 4. Findings.**

_Blinded I am and so are you  
By shedding tears  
Confusion that separates us two  
We hold dear  
Just look into my eyes  
Kiss our fears goodbye  
I am reaching for your shadow_

— X —

 **TSAB's Headquarters, Section 6 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes  
Midchilda City. Day 13, ****Twelfth Month, 2043** **\- 23:30 hrs**

During the last hours, Fate's entire team plus the heads of the other Investigation Units, Griffith Lowran and Verossa Acous, along with Dr. Scaglietti and Nanoha Takamachi, had not left the meeting room, completely engrossed with the preliminary data of the ongoing investigation.

Scaglietti's and Nanoha's clearance arrived a little after Hayate and Fate got back to the meeting so there was no reason for any more delays.

Much to Fate's annoyance, who still was not comfortable with having a civilian on board, she paid attention as Hayate explained the case in detail. A family had been brutally murdered, they had a survivor, whose existence had to be kept in the utmost secret to keep her safe, and the latest findings showed that there were other families that had been murdered as well and there was a chance all those murders were connected.

After the first revelations, Fate could see how Nanoha turned pale as she heard the terrible news, but much to her surprise, the girl remained composed and collected and behaved with outstanding professionalism. She even avoided confronting her, a reason for which Fate was extremely grateful.

Unbeknownst to Fate, Nanoha was particularly observant of every detail of her, and it did not go unnoticed to the redhaired the shadow of pain in Fate's eyes as she returned from her private confer with Hayate, despite how well the blonde tried to hide it under a professional and cold façade.

After a while, Shamal took Nanoha to give her more specific details about Vivio and so she could see the girl at last. One of Nanoha's main responsibilities would be aiding Shamal to treat the girl so she could recover as fast as possible, or at least, be able to give them some information.

Fate was relieved as soon as she saw Nanoha leave the room; the girl would be fine with Shamal and that way they would be able to discuss more freely about the most pressing matters.

Hayate, with the help of Shari and Rein, had already conducted the first interview with Dr. Scaglietti, but Fate's team still had a long list of inquiries to make, besides the trite " _Where were you last night?"_

"In my lab, as I had already told Colonel Yagami a couple of my assistants stayed with me," Scaglietti answered without batting an eye.

"We understand, doctor, however, we have to go over that possibility. I am sure you understand. We would also like you to take a look at this list," Fate asked as she handed him a folder-sized intelligent device, "and tell us if you know these people, as well as the extent of your relationship with them."

Scaglietti opened the device diligently and with careful movements, to find summarized dossiers of names that were very familiar to him:

+++ BEGINNING OF FILE +++

Precia Testarossa (t-2020)  
Sachie Ishida (t - 2030)  
Mariel Atenza (t - 2031)  
Ixpellia Kaiser (t - 2035)  
Claus G.S. Ingvalt (t - 2039)  
Heidi E. S. Ingvalt (t - 2039)  
Megane Alpine (t – 2043)  
Olivie Sägebrecht (*)  
Filith Yazawa (*)  
Zest Grangaitz (*U)  
Quint Nakajima (*)  
Irene Noa (*)  
Jail Scaglietti (*)

+++ END OF FILE +++

After reviewing each and every one of the dossiers and finding his own picture staring back at him, he pushed the device aside and stared directly at Hayate.

"This information is classified, Colonel, I hope you are aware of that."

"Perfectly, doctor," she replied with an enigmatic smile. "Please answer Agent's Testarossa's question."

"I am acquainted with all of them," he replied calmly. "I do not have a close relationship with most of them, but I can say that some were my friends, like Megane Alpine and her husband, as well as the Ingvalt siblings. We used to chat frequently after they retired from the project, but then we lost contact with each other."

"Are you aware then that the Ingvalt siblings, Claus and Heidi, are dead?" Fate asked without taking her eyes away from Scaglietti.

"What? Claus and Heidi?" Scaglietti asked, surprised.

Fate and Hayate merely nodded.

"Take another look at the dossiers, Doctor, the names of your colleagues marked with a small t are dead. Or more specifically, have been murdered in the year marked," Fate told him.

Scaglietti pondered for a moment and then reviewed the dossiers carefully. As he kept reading, he covered his mouth with his hand before looking back at Hayate and Fate.

"Sachie, Mariel, all of them… This is…"

"Terrible," Fate completed for him. "Besides thanking your help with our investigation, doctor, we have to place you under protection… for your own safety. In fact, you will not be the only one. As you can see, seven researchers that were chief researchers on Sankt Kaiser's projects have been murdered… along with their families. We suspect it could be related to the same person and we want everyone else to be safe."

"Safe? You must be kidding, Agent. You expect me to feel safe when seven of my colleagues have been murdered and you are all only realizing there MIGHT be a connection?"

Scaglietti had suddenly turned frantic.

"I suggest you calm down, doctor," Hayate intervened, noticing how upset Scaglietti was. "I understand what you say, but let Agent Testarossa finish, please."

"Testarossa," for the first time Scaglietti seemed to pick up on something and take the device again to read the first classified dossier. A beautiful brunette with deep violet eyes looked at him smiling. He turned to watch Fate in a different way. The two women did not resemble each other at all. "Don't tell me, Agent Testarossa, you are related to my colleague…?"

"Doctor Precia Testarossa was my mother," Fate replied with determination. Everyone on her team as well as all her colleagues had to rest assured she was collected and ready to face the battle, whatever monster was waiting ahead for them.

"Dear gods, I am truly sorry Agent Testarossa, I did not associate the name at first," Scaglietti explained with a peculiar look on his face that Fate was not able to decipher.

Fate merely nodded, and standing up, asked Alto to explain what they had found about the scientists' murders. The list everyone had in their possession was that of all the scientists that had been Chief Researchers for the classified projects to the defense forces. And not only any type of project but those that were specifically related to the investigations left by Dr. Sankt Kaiser.

Dr. Precia Testarossa had been murdered back in 2020, and although her, as well as her daughter's death, preceded the death of the next researcher for a considerable number of years, they were including her in the list as the possible first case since the perpetrator for the double murder had never been found.

The second case was that of Doctor Sachie Ishida when she had already retired as a researcher of the armed forces for several years. Along with her family, Dr. Ishida was murdered in 2030.

"Is that the longest span?" Signum asked.

"That's right, ten years elapsed between Dr. Testarossa and Dr. Ishida's deaths," Alto corroborated. At that moment Alto displayed a chronological timeline on the screen where they were able to see the name of the researchers and the year in which they were each murdered. Starting with Precia Testarossa in 2020 up to Megane Alpine in 2043.

"And the shortest one was between Dr. Ishida's murder and Dr. Atenza's," Signum pointed out again, "just a year in between."

"Mariel Atenza was murdered the following year, that is correct, but actually, it was a shorter time frame. Only eight months," Alto indicated, sending the exact dates of the deaths to her teammates.

"This makes absolutely no sense," Lucino intervened, "after being murdering for such a long time, the window of time in which he is acting should be shorter, not longer."

"I do not believe we are dealing with any typical subject," Verossa said, participating for the first time. He stood up and got closer to Lucino's diagram. "Even if it's true this chart is atypical since the timeframe between each murder is completely erratic, there is something we might be overlooking. A possibility is that he had been _mutating_ or rather _perfecting_ his methods."

"What do you mean, Agent Acous?" Scaglietti asked.

"Maybe the subject did not kill researchers during those intervals, but he may have killed others in another group," Fate said looking at Verossa who merely nodded.

They all fell into a heavy silence, which Scaglietti broke again.

"It seems this is very bad," he said, not entirely convinced looking at everyone else.

"Indeed, Doctor," Hayate replied. "That is the worst scenario we could be facing. We have a killer that for some reason is targeting government researchers, but not only them but their families as well. The victims, in this case, belong to the broader spectrum, a complete family, but the possibility still remains that he is killing other individuals, whether men or women, or their ages, or what their characteristics are, we do not know."

Barely taking a breath, Hayate continued looking at the researchers' dossiers she had as well as Scaglietti, in an alternating fashion. "To put it in another way, this man does not display defined victimology which would be the main foundation that would allow us to track him; judging by what we have been able to see from the other cases of your murdered colleagues, he does not show a pre-established modus operandi, he lacks a singular _signature_. One of the reasons the murders were not associated at first is because it never seemed they were products of the same killer."

"To sum up," Fate stepped in after an imperceptible nod from Hayate, "this man kills within a broad spectrum, in the most diverse ways you can imagine, and has no intention of being caught. That is the hardest type of killer to identify."

Everyone remained expectantly silent after that. Fate and Hayate omitted to mention to the doctor that the subject not only killed in the most diverse ways but also in the most vicious and cruel ones. Fate thought that the scene of the Alpine family was the most appalling one she had ever seen in her life, but the murders of her other colleagues were not really far behind in brutality. Now that they had all the information about the other murders, she was able to understand why they had not been connected from the very beginning. The scenes had nothing, absolutely not one thing, in common. It seemed as if different monsters had taken out their rage on the investigators. Scaglietti's voice made her turn her attention to him once again.

"I have one last question, if I may, Colonel Yagami."

"If it's in my power to answer, I will, doctor," Hayate replied, smiling as if they were having tea on a sunny afternoon and not discussing a serial killer almost at midnight.

"What about Dr. Zest Grangaitz? I noticed a different mark in his dossier. Is he all right?"

Hayate and Fate looked at each other; after so many years, they knew each other well enough to be able to communicate with each other in a silent, subtle way. For everyone else, even for their own team at times, it seemed they were just looking at each other, but for them, it was a full multi-nuanced conversation.

At last, Fate replied to him.

"The only thing I can tell you right now is that the whereabouts of Dr. Zest Grangaitz have been unknown for the past six months. We assume he is safe, since he embarked on an exploration trip, but we have not been able to locate him yet."

Scaglietti's face remained inscrutable and he did not ask any more questions. There was something in Scaglietti that Fate could not finish liking about him, but she could not tell exactly what that was. A couple of times, the agent's instincts triggered a warning alert caused by his facial expressions, but they were too short-lived before fading away. Maybe she just disliked the guy or maybe she was just too tired.

After placing the doctor under protection and requesting all the information he could give about his research colleagues, Lucino took Scaglietti to see little Vivio while Hayate and Fate gave the final indications. Fate was already handing out assignments for everyone when Hayate interrupted her.

"Fate, let's save that for tomorrow morning at the first hour. The entire team has been up for almost forty-eight hours straight and it's almost midnight. This is going to be a long-range race. I suggest we all rest tonight and starting tomorrow we take shifts. This case has the highest priority and for the very first time in Section 6, three elite units will be simultaneously working on the same case, we cannot all burn out at the same time."

Somewhat reluctantly, Fate agreed; Hayate was right, they were already starting to look exhausted and it was just the beginning. Fate was telling everyone they could leave when Vice interrupted her.

"Fate, wait, there's something else we need to talk about."

Fate signaled to Hayate letting her know she would take care of it, so everyone but Fate's team left behind Hayate,

"What's up Vice?"

"Nakajima. You have on that list a Dr. Quint Nakajima, you realize who that is, right?"

Fate slowly shook her head trying to draw a connection.

"Dr. Quint is Genya Nakajima's wife, and he's the head of Midchilda's police department. Their eldest daughter also works for the regional police, but their youngest daughter is Griffith's new recruit.

"Those Nakajimas then?" Fate asked, looking at Griffith, wanting to bring to the table the same point Vice was making.

"That's right," her colleague answered. Griffith held a Captain rank in Section 6 and although he was not an Enforcer like Fate was, he was also in charge of an investigation team like hers and Verossa Acous's. The three of them comprised Hayate's elite team.

"We will have to personally speak with them," Fate said, putting her long coat on and getting ready to leave.

Vice and Griffith looked at each other; they both knew Fate had a lot on her plate already for one person alone, without taking into consideration what she must be going through having to deal with the ghosts of her past and her mother's murder.

"As Hayate said, it's too late already. Let me and Griffith go with the agents that will be in charge of the security for the Nakajimas. I will talk with Chief Genya and Dr. Quint and will let them know you will be coming to talk to them soon, after all, Subaru is part of Griffith's team and they are also going to be worried about her. You should go and rest now. We are all going to need you."

Fate knew that Vice's little sister, Laguna Granscenic, was also part of Griffith's team and that both worked well together. Finally, with Lucino's, Alto's, and especially Signum's help they convinced her.

After bidding goodnight to her team with a sad smile, promising that she would go straight home and Signum literally pushing her to the exit, Fate walked towards the underground parking lot.

" _I truly have an exceptional team,"_ Fate was musing while she could only hear the echo of her own footsteps resounding in the empty corridors _, "not only they work together as a team, but they also look after each other, myself included."_

As her thoughts kept going on, she could not help but wonder how Scaglietti and that girl, Nanoha, would adapt with them. It went without saying that Scaglietti was an old fox who knew how to move within the military environment, but the girl ... despite her determined and fearless nature, she still had a dash of innocence to her eyes that touched Fate's heart. She wished she would not lose it in the journey she was to undertake.

Some nearby voices made Fate turn just to find Shamal saying goodbye to Nanoha and Dr. Scaglietti.

Scaglietti was already been promptly escorted by two field agents, Fate recognized the uniforms immediately because that unit has led by her adoptive father Admiral Clyde Harlaown, and her brother, Chrono, and although she did not personally know the agents with Scaglietti, they greeted her almost reverently as she approached the group.

At that moment they were deciding whether to take Nanoha with them or find her an independent ride since it was best not to associate her with Scaglietti any more than necessary for her own safety. It was already known she worked with Scaglietti, but it would be better if she was not seen with him any more than it was usual.

"I'll take her," Fate volunteered before she was even able to stop the words from coming out from her mouth.

" _Dammit, why did I do that?"_ She mentally scolded herself, but it was already too late because Shamal was thrilled with the idea and was already pushing Nanoha towards Fate.

Nanoha, however, was not entirely convinced.

"Are you sure, Agent Testarossa? I do not want to be a nuisance for you, we can call a cab…" the girl said almost without glancing at Fate.

"Don't be silly, Nanoha," Shamal added cheerfully, "Agent Testarossa's offer is by far the best option and it's not any trouble at all… _right_ , Fate?" Shamal's piercing look told Fate it would be very, very, very, VERY bad for her to contradict her.

"Uh… no, of course, it's no trouble at all, Miss Takamachi, besides… I already know where you live."

Since Nanoha remained standstill in her place and Shamal's threatening look was still there as well, Fate tried to smile a little.

"I understand your misgivings, but believe me, I am not a bad person… and it will be my pleasure to give you a ride home, Miss Takamachi."

"Wow, you seem to be human after all, you do smile," Nanoha said, with a shy smile, much to Fate's flustering, who blushed at the remark. "Okay, I accept your kind offer, Agent Testarossa, thank you very much."

Shamal visibly relaxed and looked at Fate approvingly for the first time in days and hurried them so they would get on their way.

Fate and Nanoha walked up to the place where Fate had her car and the young investigator was surprised upon finding a dashing black sports car. It was not a recent model but it was a really striking modified vehicle.

"You seem to have interesting tastes, Agent," Nanoha said at last, while Fate in an unexpected, yet gentle chivalrous gesture, opened the passenger door for her. The red-haired took a few seconds to get in the car as if she could not believe that was actually Agent Testarossa.

"I just love speed," Fate replied as she got inside as well and fastened her seatbelt.

Nanoha was amazed looking at the interior of the car, besides being a sports model, it had multiple technological gadgets and for her, more than a car, it looked like a spaceship.

They spent the first part of the way in silence, a slightly tense one since Nanoha felt unnaturally nervous as she could not find a single topic of conversation to start with the girl next to her.

She had never found it difficult to be friendly and speak with people, but now it seemed that they had so little in common that she had literally no idea of what to say to her. Everything that came to her mind seemed irrelevant, inappropriate, or just plain foolish. It was turning to be even a little worse now, since Nanoha suddenly became very self-conscious that it was the first time they were completely alone, and she felt slightly intimidated by the agent that exuded confidence and tenacity.

She did not know whether to thank for what she had done the previous night, to apologize for that morning's incident, to thank her for driving her home, or to invite her for coffee... Good heavens, it had been a very long day and it seemed ages had gone by since last night and that morning when she wondered she would never see the blonde agent again and that she would never get to know her name.

Fate, now she knew her name was Fate and despite having filled her every thought that morning, after running into her again, all they had done was argue. The irony of the situation made her smile.

"Something funny?" Fate asked, who was also rattling her head looking for something to say to the girl next to her. Even if she was not giving any indication that showed it on the outside, she was very nervous.

"What?" Nanoha asked, taken by surprise by Fate's voice in the silence of the car.

"Yeah, I mean, if you remembered something funny. I thought I saw you smiling just now."

Nanoha blushed without knowing how to answer, she would feel like an idiot to tell her what was really in her mind, so she tried to answer as concisely as possible.

"I was thinking about what kind of hell of a coincidence, you helped us yesterday and now we met again. Oh! I am sorry… Agent Testarossa, I am already forgetting my manners, it's just that you look so young."

"So young for what?" Fate asked, amused. In fact, yes, she also thought it was one hell of a coincidence to have crashed into her after last night's events. Literally. "And well, I think we don't have to be extremely formal now that you will be working with us, I think we can refer to each other… more naturally… if that's okay with you."

Nanoha smiled, it definitely would be okay to call her by her name.

"So young to do what you do, work for TSAB, be a special agent for these complicated cases, all of that… Fate."

"I'm twenty-eight and I have been working for TSAB for ten years now. My family also works there, so I started when I was very young, it must have something to do with that."

Fate barely stopped herself from giving more information, she usually did not speak so personally with anyone, least of all outsiders. It had been very long since she had spoken with anyone unrelated to TSAB, the army, the navy, the police, or friends with her or Hayate's family… with someone just _normal_ that speaking with this girl now was… refreshing. Nonetheless, she decided it was better to change the topic.

"You are too young to do what you do, as well."

"We are the same age," Nanoha replied, pleased. "I started my doctorate research a couple of years ago, although my work with the doctor does not measure to what you do."

Nanoha perfectly recalled Fate's look during the meeting, she could almost feel the iron grip Fate exercised over herself while she talked about the families that had been murdered. Vivio's family in particular. Hayate considered that it was necessary for Nanoha to know all the details of that case, at least, so she could be able to help Vivio and what she saw was so awful her heart tugged in pain just by remembering it.

"What you do is incredibly difficult, Fate," she said after a pause, turning to look at the agent and almost turning breathless just by the sight of her. Fate was looking at her with that piercing crimson gaze that almost seemed to make its way right through her to touch her very soul. Within her, she felt the growing desire to rip off the veiled pain behind that look. She was sure those eyes would be even more beautiful without that shadow of pain in them.

"I don't know if difficult is the best way to describe it. I have trained all these years for something like this, to do what I do," Fate replied. "When we manage to catch the bastards that do the atrocities like the ones done to Vivio's family, I think everything else is worth it."

Nanoha merely nodded just looking at how the look in Fate's eyes hardened, but she felt relieved that she was the one in charge of the investigation. If there was someone that could bring justice for Vivio, that would be Fate.

"I started working with Vivio barely six months ago," Nanoha said. "But I have become rather fond of her… It makes me sad to see how she is now."

Noticing how Nanoha's face turned somber as she mentioned the girl, Fate asked. "What's your opinion after your initial exam?"

"She's still heavily sedated and I think that was the best decision, tomorrow I will draw up a plan with Agent Shamal for her care and we will run some tests to see what we can do."

She was so caught up thinking about Vivio and how she looked bedridden in TSAB's Medical Investigation facility that Nanoha did not notice they had already arrived at her home until Fate softly touched her hand with her gloved hand. It was such a subtle graze, so faint that even if Nanoha had jolted in surprise, she wondered if she had really touched her.

"I'm sorry," Fate said. "I didn't mean to scare you. We are counting on your help to help Vivio. The most important thing is that she gets better."

Nanoha nodded and they remained just sitting silently in the car, shyly exchanging fleeting glances from the corner of their eyes. She felt comfortable with the agent's presence and she had briefly been able to see a side of her she hadn't imagined she had and now she did not know how to say goodbye.

Deep down in her, she feared that if she got out of the car, if she broke the slight connection that had happened between them, the dark shadow would return to Fate's eyes and she would not see that gentle smile again.

"Is everything all right?" Fate finally asked.

"Yes," Nanoha was quick to answer. "Thank you very much for bringing me home, Fate."

"Don't mention it, it's the least I could do. By the way…" Fate remained silent for a moment, tightly gripping the steering wheel as she looked for the right words. "I am so sorry I was so… insistent this morning, as you can see, we are dealing with a complicated case, and…" Nanoha's hand over hers interrupted her.

"I am sorry too, Fate. Let's agree on a truce, shall we? From what I've seen, you are almost a human being, and you have seen I can talk to you without giving you hell. We are even."

Fate could not help but smile at the statement.

"You should do that more often," Nanoha said smiling back.

"What?" Fate asked still with a smile. "Try to be more human?"

"Hmmm, I meant smiling, but yes, that would also help you be more human."

Still smiling, Fate got out of the car to walk Nanoha to the door of her building.

"I am not making any promises, but I will try. I accept your truce offering, though," she said with her lips still faintly curved.

"If that's the case Fate, then at least call me by my name. We had already decided we would talk to each other less formally, right?" Nanoha was now wide smiling and extended her hand for Fate to take.

Blushing for making a display that almost seemed childish, Fate took the hand extended for her, saying, "I accept the truce… Nanoha."

"See you around… Fate," she said after a moment and slowly letting Fate's hand go, Nanoha bid goodbye and got inside her building, pretending to close and keep herself busy with _things_ as she watched the blonde agent get back in her car and drive away in the night.

Fate Testarossa was certainly much more pleasant in her almost human version.

— X —

 **Downtown of Midchilda City, TSAB's Residential Area  
Day 14, ****Twelfth Month, 2043** **\- 00:30 hrs.**

It was already late, but Shamal was sitting down on the large deck of the penthouse owned by the Yagami family in Midchilda's downtown. It was a residential area exclusive to TSAB's personnel, especially higher ranks and strategic officers.

It was relatively close to TSAB's headquarters, which, considering the schedule, they sometimes had turned out to be quite convenient. Plus, it had a grand view of the city.

She was perfectly aware of the footsteps behind her but did not move a muscle, waiting.

"Isn't it too late to be out enjoying the weather? The temperature is dropping a lot these days."

Shamal remained silent until the owner of the voice moved in front of her. Despite that, Shamal had managed to turn away, away from the tall pink-haired woman's blue eyes who was standing in front of her with her arms crossed.

"Are you still angry?" Signum asked the obvious. During the light supper they had as they got back from the office, her place was the only one that did not have a served plate and Shamal had avoided talking or looking at her all the while they had been at the table. Hayate and Zafira had shot inquisitive glances at them but decided not to intervene… just yet.

Vita had long gone to sleep, so Signum was alone in that.

"Do you even care?" Shamal asked, still without looking at her.

" _Shit, she is still angry, very angry,"_ Signum thought. " _But what happened that made her so angry?"_

"Listen, Shamal, it's very late and we are all very tired and we need to be ready for tomorrow. Of course, I care… but could we talk about it, tomorrow?"

"Always, practical, huh?" Shamal finally looked at her and even as she was standing in the half-light, Signum was able to notice, by the look in her eyes, that Shamal was not only angry but that in a way she also felt… hurt.

"Shamal, I… I do not know why you are so upset; I really do not understand. Fate is the one that has been behaving oddly since last night after we were at the Alpine's scene and I believe we all know why. I don't understand what that has anything to do with you being angry."

Standing up, Shamal aced Signum standing in front of her, very, very close, so close that she could feel Signum tensing up without moving back though.

"Fate has nothing to do with me being angry. On the contrary, I believe that now more than ever we must stand by her side and back her up. You heard what Hayate said, Deputy Director Carim wanted Fate out of the investigation."

"What is it then?"

"You!" Shamal almost yelled at her, "and your _I couldn't care less about anything in the whole fucking universe!"_

Shamal cursing, now that was a new level of anger.

"That's not true," Signum defended herself quite unconvincingly, "of course there are things that I care about."

"Your attitude says otherwise, okay let's have it, what are those… _things_ … you care about? Besides your goddamned automatic gun Laevantine… don't you dare mention it," and crossing her arms, Shamal got ready to listen to the answer.

"Uh, well… I care about our family of course… our friends… the job…" Signum was struggling to find a brilliant answer that would get her out of the mess she was in.

"That is so vague you don't even believe it yourself, couldn't you mention something more concrete. Is there anything or anyone that really matters to you?"

"Like what?" the other asked exasperated.

"Do you care about me for example?" Shamal asked with a slight thread of voice staring deeply at her.

"All our family matters to me, Shamal, absolutely."

Shamal was staring intensely at her and Signum only wanted to turn around and run away, which was something truly irrational for her. The stares duel lasted until Shamal, without saying anything else, turned around and left her alone with the cold as the only answer.

— X —


	5. Darkness arrives with the day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated E for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.
> 
> TRANSLATOR'S NOTES: Okay, we didn't want to wait that long for the next chapter. We would definitely love to read your thoughts and theories about the mystery and how our two leads are going to deal with everything they have.
> 
> The new soundtrack for the chapter is "Hope" by Apocalyptica

* * *

**The Legacy** by Aleksei Volken

**Chapter 5. Darkness arrives with the day.**

_Oh but in this heart of darkness  
Our hope lies lost and torn  
All fame like love is fleeting  
When there's no hope anymore  
Like the poison in her arm  
Like a whisper, she was gone  
Like when angels fall_

— X —

 **Downtown of Midchilda City, TSAB's Residential Area  
** **Day 20,** **Twelfth Month, 2043** **\- 20:30 hrs.**

"Shamal," a voice called from the door of her room, "may I come in?"

Signum requesting permission for something, that was something new, Shamal, who was sitting at her desk, writing and reviewing her notes, though; she and Takamachi had been working with Vivio for a week without any result to show. Although Shamal had to accept that the young doctor had greatly surprised her with the suggested treatments as well as with her observations during the tests they ran to the girl. Nanoha was certainly brilliant, and even if they had not achieved any success yet, Shamal was sure it wouldn't be long before they got positive results.

At the lack of answer, Signum sighed and came in, closing the door behind her. It had been a week since Shamal hadn't even said _good morning_ to her, in all truth, that would have taken two words, Shamal had not even uttered a word to her like _Hello_ or _Die_.

Shamal would not even look at her and Signum could not take that stress anymore. Added to that, Hayate had literally ordered her to fix things and that it'd better be sooner rather than later.

"You matter to me…" she said after standing a while looking at Shamal's back who kept writing on her desk.

After that, the blonde finally stopped writing, took her glasses off, and turned to look at Signum.

"Hayate ordered you to come," she said, and it was not a question.

Signum tensed up, if she responded affirmatively, then Shamal would not believe a single word she said afterward, but if she denied it and then Shamal found it, then it would be even worse.

Shamal was almost amused to see the other's internal struggle… almost. If she was not being hurt by that she could almost have enjoyed it. She was putting on her glasses again when Signum grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Yes, Hayate _suggested_ I should talk to you… but Hayate cannot order me to care about you. Both things are true."

Now, Signum was the one looking at her with an intensity that was uncommon, so strong that Shamal was having trouble holding the stare.

"You don't have to," she said, at last, averting her gaze.

"What the hell, Shamal! What do you want from me?" Signum recriminated, almost shaking her.

With that, Shamal took the other's hands softly, stood up, and got away from her. Signum was right, what did she expect from her? From her… _sister_.

Shamal had always looked up to Signum since the very first moment she arrived at the Yagami home when she was very young. Hayate's parents, Ken and Hikari Yagami also worked for TSAB and Shamal was already the third child they adopted after losing their families in a tragedy where TSAB had either helped or participated in.

Zafira had been the first adopted, Signum the second, and everyone treated her like their own daughter.

An even smaller than her Hayate had welcomed her with open arms and Signum had always been there, always with that attitude since back then; always protecting them both, especially after Hayate's parents died in a plane crash when Hayate was barely nine and Shamal ten; although Signum was only two years older, she was always there for them.

When Signum left to begin her military training, Shamal was already thirteen and felt devastated. Everyone else was happy, especially their legal guardian, Gil Graham, of Zafira and Signum pursuing a military career.

Hayate had Fate, she always had Fate by her side, but she felt she had lost something deep down her heart and was sad for weeks.

Then, they only got to see Signum or Zafira once a year, two at most, but each occasion was precious to Shamal. She was able to see Signum becoming not only a strong and brave woman but also a beautiful one and she could stay hours looking at her mesmerized talking with Admiral Graham about the training and the missions she and Zafira completed.

And every time she had to go back, it hurt again just like the first time. It was until she was twenty and Signum was seriously injured on duty that she realized that maybe that feeling of _adoration_ towards her _sister_ could actually be something much deeper.

They did not know exactly what had happened, they just were informed that Signum had been injured in combat and she was at the hospital. The hours that went by until Signum was taken to an area where she and Hayate were able to visit her, were pure agony for Shamal. She could only think that if something happened to Signum, her life would be pointless.

During the three days in which Signum was unconscious, there was no possible power that moved Shamal from her side for a moment; even when she woke up, recovered and they could take her home, she kept by her side for as long as possible, even leaving college and everything else despite Signum's heated protests.

However, warriors belong to the battlefield and eventually, the warrior had to leave.

In that parting, Shamal knew that Signum meant so much more for her. It was the worst of the goodbyes because now she was aware that she could maybe not even come back.

After that, on the days when she was more distant and melancholic, Hayate sometimes looked at her as if she knew what was wrong with her but never said anything and Shamal never dared to put a name to what she was feeling. Hayate insisted she had to go out, and thus introduced her to friends, male and female equally, and for her own peace of mind, she tried many times, but no one was able to fill the emptiness she felt in her heart.

Two years ago, when Signum retired from the army's special forces and went back home to live with them, as a family, and work for TSAB on Fate's team, Shamal was overjoyed with happiness. Zafira had returned a few years before and now, with Signum, they were all back together again.

Just to know that Signum would be by her side all the time and that she would be safe and sound would be enough for her.

But it wasn't.

Sometimes the feelings in her heart threatened to escape without control.

Like right now.

When she was making unhappy the one person she cared most about in the whole world.

Signum was still standing behind her and Shamal could feel her annoyance as well as her frustration.

When she turned around to look at her, her older sister was looking at her almost with rage and was clenching her fists keeping them to her sides.

"I am sorry, Signum, you are right. I've not been fair to you," she said looking at her with tears threatening to show in her eyes. Surprised, Signum opened her mouth to say something but she was unable. Shamal hugged her almost crying. "I… am sorry to be such a lousy sister, Signum. I, better than anyone else, know you… and I should not expect to…"

Signum did not let her finish, and breaking off a little from the embrace, held her by the shoulders and silenced her with a finger over her lips.

"I care about you Shamal," she said staring into her eyes, "a lot. I am sorry it seems I am insensitive sometimes, it's just that…"

Now it was time for Shamal to interrupt her.

"I know," she said smiling, but Signum could see the smile did not reach her eyes.

Shamal took her hand and pulled her out of the room. "Come, let's set the table for dinner. Hayate should be on her way already. We do not want her to scold you for not following her orders, right?"

As they went to the kitchen, Shamal made up her mind to keep the firm resolution of becoming stronger and overcoming that feeling that at times threatened to drown her. It could not be. Never.

Signum would always be her sister and only… _her sister_. That was the only kind of love she had the right to expect.

That night, Hayate was the last to arrive and she did not come alone. Finally, she was able to convince Fate to leave the office earlier than usual and have dinner with them. For the past seven days, it could not be said they had advanced very much in the investigation and with every day that went by, Fate tried harder and harder to pull them out of the stagnation they found themselves in.

All the information they had been able to gather, all the remaining researchers on the list were under the severe protection of TSAB, they had reviewed hundreds of hours of surveillance videos, they had re-created to the last detail the life of all the murdered researchers and their families, their friends and anyone that had been related to them; Shamal and Nanoha were hoping to get good news about Vivio soon… but the still did not have a single suspect.

Despite their intentions of working in shifts so the case would not be left unattended for a second, and despite Griffith and Verossa's efforts, Fate was spending more time in the office, trying to avoid the unavoidable.

As the days went by, a certainty started to fall onto them as a cold fog, a sudden one, that covers everything in its way and that is impossible to do something against; he was going to kill someone; they knew it, they could see it coming and they could not do anything but to wait for it to happen.

Fate felt trapped amidst a thick fog. She had everything she could need and yet was not able to see. And that kept her extremely stressed out. Nanoha had unsuccessfully tried to get close to her, but after the first night in which she gave her a ride home, Fate had been too caught up in work and too worried to let anyone get near her.

That had been the last business day of the week, a guard would stay on watch at the office but Hayate had ordered that everyone, including (and especially) Fate to take a break, so that day she did not hear any excuse and literally dragged Fate for dinner with her family, agreeing not to discuss the case, for that moment at least.

After dinner, as they were picking up the table, Fate took the chance to point a particular detail to Hayate,

"It seems they finally made up, huh?" she said, stealing glances towards Shamal and Signum."

"It would seem so," was Hayate's only insightful reply.

Fate looked again at the two women, more closely this time. "That is what it seems to me."

"And that is exactly the problem, my dear Fate."

Fate just raised her brows, waiting for Hayate to shed some light on her with some of her unpredictable comments. It had always been like that with her, impossible to tell what she would say next.

"Signum and you are very much alike, it's quite surprising how two persons, as brilliant as you two are, can turn out to be so… dense, for others."

"Hey, just because you are my commanding officer doesn't give you the right to insult me," Fate laughed. "Remember, I know many of your secrets."

Hayate was able, at last, to convince Fate to stay the night at her house, the following morning they would not work and for the first time in many days, they could rest. Hayate had a lot of plans for the next day.

Unfortunately, not one of them was able to come true.

— X —

 **Residential Suburban area to Midchilda's Rigelian University  
Day 21, ****Twelfth Month, 2043** **\- 07:30 hrs.**

Nanoha was hastily getting dressed as she tried to put her ideas in order about everything she had to do before leaving. It had already been fifteen minutes since she had received an urgent call from Colonel Yagami herself indicating that she was needed at TSAB's offices as quickly as possible. And that she should also come prepared to be out of her house for an indefinite while.

After a week of spending several hours at Section 6, working with Shamal mainly, but also observing Fate and Hayate's working as a team, she had been absorbing how they worked and the level of commitment with the mission they had on their hands. She had also been able to watch, and marveled, at the level of respect all the team held towards Hayate and Fate. Both women were always very direct with their requests towards their subordinates, but they were also respectful and gentle, especially Hayate. Fate tended to be more staid, gentle but always reserved. And everyone, even the agents with the same rank as Fate, agreed without questions. So when she received that call from Hayate, even Nanoha herself was surprised when she answered without a moment of hesitation, "Yes, ma'am, immediately."

Not even to Dr. Scaglietti did she ever say she would do something immediately. But it was worth mentioning that Scaglietti did not have a team like that one, nor was he a boss like Hayate. The only thing that had weighed Nanoha down those had been how distant Fate had been despite their agreed 'truce'. Although they had not discussed like they had the first day and Fate greeted her with gentleness, she kept distant and did not smile in that wholesome way Nanoha would have loved to see. Added to that, the agent had been so busy that she had barely even been able to see her.

So, there she was, getting a light suitcase ready to be out a few days without knowing what the future laid ahead for her. She was just thinking about quickly scribbling a note for her roommates when Alisa's sleepy and somehow disgruntled voice made her turn around.

"Are you planning on running away in the middle of the night with a mysterious lover?" she asked.

"Ah! Alisa-chan, thank goodness you are awake!"

"Thanks to you and all the racket you have going on… what the hell are you doing by the way?"

Nanoha was able to notice that Suzuka was standing behind Alisa, looking at her with some concern. The previous night her friends had told her that she had been behaving oddly all week, with a particular obsession for her job and that she needed to take a break. Nanoha was not entirely sure of how she was going to tell them she had to go, probably for a few days

"Uh… Alisa-chan, Suzuka-chan… something's come up and I have to go to the office… I …"

"And you need to bring a suitcase for that?" Alisa asked with a suspicious look.

"Well, yeah…" Lying had been something Nanoha had never been good at, especially to her friends, but she had not wanted to tell them she was working for TSAB or that she had seen Fate again, least of all WHAT was she working on, so now she was out of ideas.

Sighing, she stopped what she was doing and stood in front of her friends to look them directly in the eyes. They were only concerned for her wellbeing, so she needed them to trust and believe in her.

"Dr. Scaglietti has asked my help for a special project. I cannot talk about it right now, but I am fine, trust me. I know this all seems very weird, but I hope I can explain everything to you soon."

Alisa and Suzuka looked at each other concerned.

"You are not having an affair with that old creep, are you?" Alisa said after a while.

"Alisa-chan!" Nanoha shrieked, taken aback. "Of course not!" She was scandalized just to even think about it.

"Do you promise you will be fine?" was the only thing Suzuka said, putting a hand over her shoulder.

"You can count on that," Nanoha told her friends, "Now, really I have to get going."

"And will you give us a call to know you are alive?" Alisa's request sounded more like a threat than a request but Nanoha knew what her friend really meant.

"I promise I will do my best to check in with you guys, just be patient and trust me, okay?"

Alisa and Suzuka watched her friend get her briefcase in order and as she was about to run out, Alisa stopped her with yet another question. "And what's going to happen with Yuuno-kun?

Nanoha petrified in the door with an _Oh, shit!_ look on her face. She had completely forgotten that due to Alisa and Suzuka's insistence she had agreed to go out that day with Yuuno for a walk.

"I can't believe it, you did not even remember, did you?" Alisa demanded a little, although she was much more intrigued. She had basically forced Nanoha to accept the date. Her reluctance had been such as if she was seeing someone else and now, she literally didn't even remember it. " _Poor Yuuno,"_ Alisa thought. " _He really stands no chance at all."_

"Ahh… yeah… I… I will take care of it, Alisa," Nanoha said at last and dashed out leaving her friends wondering what Nanoha was really up to.

— X —

 **TSAB's Headquarters, Section 6 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes  
Midchilda City. Day 21, ****Twelfth Month, 2043** **\- 08:00 hrs.**

Everyone was already gathered at the conference room waiting for Hayate and getting ready for a TSAB chopper to take them to Roshtaria, an area nearby to Midchilda where the Yazawa family had a vacation home where they used to spend their days off as well as the holidays.

Against all expectations and precautions, the subject had attacked once again barely before the weekend. Doctor Filith Yazawa, her family, and the two agents assigned to them for protection had been murdered.

The call had arrived shortly before seven in the morning. Only Zafira and Signum were already up at that time, as their military habits were still deep-rooted in them.

All TSAB agents guarding the researchers had to check-in at six-hour intervals. The unit in charge of the Yazawa family had reported without news at midnight but failed to report at six in the morning. All the attempts to contact the agents or the Yazawa family were useless, so an emergency team went in person to the vacation of the family in Roshtaria to find a new massacre.

After informing the Chief of the Field Operations Division, Chrono Harlaown, he personally contacted Hayate and Fate to break the news.

Since not everyone would go to the crime scene, Fate was giving instructions to the team that would remain in Midchilda when Hayate entered the room, closely followed by Nanoha. Fate stared in disbelief at her boss and friend, " _Dear Gods, Hayate… you better not be thinking…"_

But that was exactly what Hayate was thinking.

After a brief greeting, Hayate indicated that researcher Takamachi would join them at the crime scene.

"But Hayate… that is…" Fate held back just in time before saying something in front of her team that she would regret later.

"Yes, I know it's rather _unorthodox,_ Fate," Hayate said, staring at her friend in all seriousness and thanking her for not saying whatever she was thinking. And glancing at everyone, she spoke to them all.

"We are dealing with an unusual enemy and so far, we have not been able to find a single solid lead that we can pursue. There is a chance that the individual may have slipped this time, but I do not want to leave anything to chance. The external and scientific approach that researcher Takamachi can provide might be useful to us." And she added looking specifically at Fate, "And that is a risk I am willing to assume."

Her tone left no chance for counterarguments, so Fate simply crossed her arms and waited. She did not like the idea of the girl coming with them. On one side, she did not like having people outside TSAB involved, but specifically, she did not want the girl getting involved in the case.

"The chopper is ready, Colonel," Vice announced, who would personally take his bosses and the designated them to the scene. Without counting agent Verossa and Nanoha, the rest assigned were part of Fate's special team: Signum, Shamal, and Zafira.

Hayate seldom went to a scene of the kind, but this time it was a very particular exception. The chopper took off from the rooftop of the towering TSAB building and it would take them barely twenty minutes to arrive for a trip that would easily have taken four hours by vehicle due to the rugged terrain. The forensic teams were already on their way, both by land and by air, joined by other members of Section 6 to track the entire area.

When they arrived, Vice deftly landed on a small nearby clearing so the group could get to the house. TSAB had already cordoned off the entire place and luckily since it was still early, there were no snoopers around.

Halfway to the house and without asking for Hayate's approval, Fate took Nanoha by the arm and stopping her, she talked directly to her. "Wait here until I come out for you."

And without waiting for an answer she kept walking ahead. Hayate just looked at her as she walked along the blonde, waiting.

"I will follow your orders, Colonel, don't worry," Fate said coldly and without looking at her, "but we will do it my way."

Hayate let her be and ignored the mocking look Verossa shot her, thanking that the cheeky agent was sensible enough to keep his mouth shut.

As they stepped into the house, Fate was almost expecting to find a scene just like the one in the Alpine house, but she was surprised. This time, the house was not immaculate like the previous time. On the contrary, it seemed that someone had furiously lashed out against everything in the house. Just a single piece of furniture remained intact in the once elegant living room: a beautiful dark wood-carved table where, in the middle of the general mess, the heads of the two agents that were watching and protecting the Yazawa family rested as if waiting for them to come in. The unfortunate agents looked at the newly arrived with glassy eyes, their necks had been grotesquely severed, as Fate was able to tell as she got closer, with some rough and coarse cutting instrument. No surgical precision, no subtleties.

"He left them here as a welcoming present," Fate said without looking at the others coming behind her.

"Warning seems more like it," Verossa corrected her now completely seriously. "He knew this would be the first thing we'd see."

"This is the first thing he wanted us to see," Hayate pointed out. "Let's not give him the satisfaction of getting distracted now, we will have the time to find out what happened, so they ended up like this."

Everyone knew there was an implicit threat, and not nearly a subtle one, in the killer's gesture. He was telling them that he was pissed off and that was what happened when he got pissed off.

"Let's take a look at the Yazawas," Hayate said and walked towards the upper level of the house.

As they walked through, Fate glanced at her surroundings. Nothing, literally nothing had escaped the killer's rampage. Neither the family pictures, nor the vases, nor the flowers, nor the ornaments, nor the furniture, nor the technological gadgets, nor the kitchen appliances… nor the pets. Fate stopped feeling suddenly sick as she found the two dogs of the family literally sawed in half by the stairs that led to the second floor. They were large dogs, so Fate could not help but wonder how the killer had managed to do that to the animals.

"Shamal," she called with a foot on the first step, "run a tox screen on them as well."

Fate kept going up, closely followed by Hayate and the rest. The second floor had suffered similar damage to the ground floor and Fate noticed the killer seemed to have used various objects to perform his destruction. Some engravings seemed to belong to a very blunt object, without being a mallet, others that seemed to come from an ax, that there were things, like bookcases anchored to the wall that had been ripped off using something as leverage.

When they reached the first room, Fate carefully stepped in as she heard Hayate holding her breath. Her superior was not as used as her, but Fate still had to clench her fists to stop her hands from shaking.

Dr. Filith Yazawa and her husband were tied to a chair; he was sitting down, tied by the ankles and hands and she was straddling him, being penetrated by what would have been a normal penis in other circumstances… before the killer turned it into an instrument of torture and death.

Over the unmade bed, there were bindings on the four posts and a massive bloodstain in the center. Something told Fate that the recreation of the scene would indicate that Dr. Yazawa's torture had started there. By the amount of blood, the doctor had obviously bled to death due to the internal injuries caused by the instrument lodged in her husband's penis. How long that had taken was an entirely different matter. The doctor's husband had a plastic bag wrapped over his head, as well as a rope tied in a convoluted slip knot that ran down his back and under the chair where both were secured to, all the way to end up knotted on the doctor's body.

"He had them kill each other," Fate mumbled, turning to see Hayate and her teammates.

Signum nodded, adding. "That is a way of tying up prisoners, so they don't move, as they move, the knot in their neck tightens."

"It's hard to control your movements when you are dying," Zafira said expertly examining the knot just like Signum had. "Fate is right, it's quite likely they were both alive when he left them in this position."

"Shamal, we need the exact times. We need to know when this torture started and when they died," Fate ordered, looking then to see Hayate who replied with glistening eyes.

"We may have a lead," she said. Even in the middle of that horror, she had managed to notice something she had failed to see in the previous scene.

"How so?" a wary Hayate asked.

"Yes, in the Alpine's case, the victims did not die immediately either. The killer uses torture and killing methods in which the victims take long to die, they see each other die. It's not only torture that he brings to them, he makes them interact with each other as he tortures and there is something else. For some reason, he needs them to live while he kills them."

"And if we find that reason, he can find him," Verossa concluded, agreeing with Fate.

"Good point," Shamal pointed out. "With the Alpines, Logan Alpine was the last one to die, we will have to verify if it was the same situation in this case."

"In this one and all the others," Fate clarified. "I am counting on you Shamal, find something for us in the other murders."

Shamal nodded with determination while they followed Fate to the next rooms.

Dr. Yazawa only had one daughter, a teenager, of almost fifteen. She was tied up to the bed, with her arms and legs extended, and open. The blood that came from her had formed a massive stain in the once pristine white bedsheets.

They all got slightly closer, barely entering the room with a grimace look on their faces. It all seemed to indicate that the killer had raped her with an artifact similar to the one the father had embedded in him, but it was nowhere to be found. The room, just like her parents' and the rest of the house was wrecked, except for the bed, which apparently had been deliberately kept immaculate, it even seemed it had been made with extreme care to place the girl in it.

"Signum, have the forensics team look carefully to try and find the object the killer used on her," Fate indicated to her second in command. Then she asked them to carefully inspect the rest of the house before the forensics team came in, while she, Hayate, and Verossa went to the last room.

The door was half open and sprawled on the floor like discarded paper, laid the body of an older woman. Fate checked her device to get the ID information of the woman, Akiko Yazawa, the elderly doctor's mother. The killer seemed to give special treatment to all the members of the family, regardless of who they were. Mrs. Yazawa had had her internal organs carefully removed although they all had been left carelessly on the floor, leaving her like an empty shell also lying on the floor.

"He is truly a madman," Hayate, who was looking pale but collected, said. She was a career officer, not a field soldier like Signum and Zafira, not a Doctor like Shamal, and although she had seen the atrocities of war firsthand, she was not naive. She was the head and leader of Section 6 for a reason, but what she was seeing now overwhelmed her. They had to catch that guy and they had to do it immediately.

Signum, Shamal, and Zafira went back to inform that in the help's rooms they had found the three servants of the Yazawa family murdered by removal of their organs, but in their cases, it had not been a careful extirpation like with the grandmother, instead, they had been brutally ripped off.

"Nine people," Verossa said looking at the rest. "This fucker… killed nine people in a few hours."

The six agents were in silence until Hayate broke it with an order.

"Fate… bring Takamachi in."

Fate looked at her with sparkly eyes, while with a broken, yet decided voice, tried to dissuade her boss one last time. "Hayate, this is too much… for her."

"Let her be the one to decide that," Hayate replied with identical determination, and their gazes locked in a new duel. Fate did not understand what Hayate was up to, but she knew the Colonel would not budge the slightest bit. She had no choice but to obey, so clenching her jaw she made her way downstairs.

Nanoha, who was outside breathing and mentally preparing herself for what she would see inside, saw Fate go out of the house, and stop near the main door, breathing in deeply before walking up to her. During the short distance between them, Fate's gaze did not move from her for a single moment. Nanoha could not even consider moving from her place, she felt nailed to the ground just by feeling the cold anger emanating from the agent as she got closer, although on the outside she looked serene and composed. She had barely reached her when she asked point-blank.

"Why are you here?"

Nanoha was completely caught off guard by the sudden and unexpected question. "Because Colonel Yagami asked me to?" she replied somewhat shyly.

"I don't know, Miss Takamachi," Fate said almost without thinking and without realizing she was putting again ground between them by calling her by her last name. "A question is not answered with another question."

Nanoha felt the sudden burst of anger grow within her but controlled herself. It was obvious something in there had upset Fate tremendously, something she would also have to see and overcome. She opted to believe that Fate's attitude was due to the uneasiness of the moment before feeling hurt for the comment and especially for the tone Fate was using towards her.

"Yes, I am here because Colonel Yagami asked me to," she replied more firmly but deep down she knew that was not the reason. Until Fate's sudden question, she had not stopped to think about it, but now she had to accept there were more reasons for her presence in that place at that moment. "And because I want to help," she added after a while.

Fate stared at her as if doubting her but finally ended up making a gesture to follow her and turned around to go back inside the house.

"Whatever reason is, it'd better be the right one for you," was all Fate said now without looking at her.

Fate knew that she could not tell her what she was going to deal with, it was never done with rookies, and Nanoha, in a way, was some sort of rookie and for her, this would be a true baptism of fire. If her soul resurfaced unscathed, perhaps, as Hayate was hoping for, she could be able to help them. As they got closer to the door, Fate felt something twinging inside her. She did not want the girl to go through it, she did not want her to see what awaited beyond that door, she did not want for her to lose the innocence she could still see in those blue eyes. Fate realized, bewildered, that she wanted to protect her from what was inside.

But she could not, it was too late already. Nanoha was there for a reason, whether she liked it or not, so stepping aside, the agent let Nanoha in first and stayed behind her, close enough if she happened to have to hold her.

When they arrived at the living room she saw her stop all of a sudden and hold back a scream. For a moment, Fate thought the girl would pass out right here, but much to her surprise, she remained standing up, breathing hard and clenching her fists at her side. She was even more surprised, when, looking more settled, the researcher got closer to the table where the heads of the murdered agents rested.

Fate was about to warn her to not touch anything or get any closer to the table when she saw her stop. Nanoha was no longer seeing the heads of the agents, but the mess of the room, of the entire scene.

"We need to let the forensics team do their job before we can thoroughly inspect the room," she told her before she would go further or touch anything.

Without saying anything, Nanoha turned around and stood in front of Fate. She was pale and there was a faint veil of sweat on her forehead, but she also had a look of fierce determination in her eyes. She silently followed Fate in the middle of the destruction to the second floor and whatever awaited in the next rooms.

Hayate and the others looked at her passing by with inscrutable looks, she would either break down or push forward, they all knew it, even Fate, but that did not make it any easier to watch her go through that test. When Nanoha finished, Hayate ordered the forensics teams to get in and start their work as they stepped out.

It was not usual for such a large team to enter a crime scene before the forensics team, all the house had a good deal of evidence, especially in the state it was in, but the opportunity to see a scene in that state was also very important to them when everything else had failed up to that moment.

Once outside, Hayate and Fate stayed with Nanoha while Shamal and Signum led the forensics teams with the instructions previously given out by Fate while Zafira and Verossa worked with the teams that were combing the outside area of the house.

Hayate was waiting, looking at Nanoha without saying a word, giving time for the young woman to recover; she was, however, impressed like Fate had been, with her integrity. Despite being still shocked and overwhelmed about what she had just seen, Nanoha had gone there for a reason and she was determined to fulfill it.

"You are not looking for a single one," Nanoha said, staring at the TSAB agents.

"What did you say?" Fate and Hayate said in unison with wide eyes. The researcher was still looking a little pale, but she managed to hold her ground.

"I'm sorry," she said since it almost seemed as if she had been talking to herself. "It's hard to explain, but what happened there, does not seem the work of a single person."

"What makes you say that?" A more than interested Hayate asked; that had not occurred to any of them at the moment.

"I seemed to pick up on some indications, on one hand, there is a ruthless, brutal personality that does not care about the destruction and who takes pleasure in causing the most possible pain. Probably whoever caused all the damages we saw and had to do with the… murders with sexual nature… There is a second personality, equally ruthless but…" she paused trying to find the appropriate adjectives, "thorough, precise, calculating, cold, asexual... and..."

"There's more?" Fate asked, noticing the slight pause Nanoha made. "You are not going to tell us it's three of them, are you?"

Looking at Fate and Hayate, Nanoha decided it was best to say everything that had come to her mind. That's why they had brought her, to observe and to give her opinion.

"Actually, yes, there are traces of a third personality, but that one doesn't seem to have committed any murder. It seems to me that the tidiness, the desire to... clean, to correct certain parts of the scene even while the victims were tortured, come from that third personality."

"Not possible," Fate said, combing with her hand her hair, which she was wearing, due to the hastiness in which she had to leave, unusually down in a golden cascade that the light breeze was slightly ruffling.

"Why not?" Hayate inquired.

"It's uncommon for serial killers to work in pairs, although it can happen in very sporadic cases and with a very particular dynamic, but… in triads! That is even more uncommon, almost impossible I daresay. They would end up killing each other, they could not have made it this far like in this case.

Fate was looking at Nanoha as she made her point, she did not want to discourage the researcher, but she was not convinced of that theory of three men _working_ together like that.

"What do you say to that, Doctor Takamachi?" Hayate asked, who, by all means, seemed very interested in the approach poised by Nanoha.

"Under normal circumstances, I would agree with Agent Testarossa, but there is a scenario where that conjunction could happen without contradicting the agent's argument or mine."

Without waiting for the agents to ask what she meant by that, she explained.

"I am not familiar with the other… incidents, just the information you have disclosed to me about Vivio's family, however, I was able to see you have not been able to establish the relations, concrete links between the cases. You said during our first interview with TSAB that the cases had not been related because it seemed they had been done by different people. The key point here is that I did not say there were three people, but rather three personalities."

At that moment she paused to let Fate and Hayate assimilate everything she had just told them, even to her it sounded disturbing, but that was what had jumped in her head as she analyzed the hints in that house.

"I believe that this is, in fact, a single killer like Agent Testarossa thinks, but with such a profound and deep disorder of split personality, that he presents multiple personalities, two of which are ruthless killers."

"And you are saying that one of the personalities of this individual might not be a killer?" Fate seemed to be considering the possibility.

"That one may not be performing the act of violence but is definitely conscious of what's happening and, in this case, could be an accomplice, voluntarily or involuntarily. I am more inclined to think it's involuntary."

Fate and Hayate were about to ask many more questions when Signum returned to let them know the forensics team was about to finish their work with the bodies, but the entire house would take longer.

"If you want to go back in, we will have to wait a long while," Signum explained.

Suddenly, for Hayate that did not seem so bad.

"Signum," she asked, "bring Shamal and the rest and catch up with us in the field vehicle assigned to Section 6. We will go back inside when the forensics team finishes but before that, we need to dig deeper into a theory that Doctor Takamachi has brought to the table. Let the forensics team know to finish their job but to not pick up anything that is not strictly essential."

Once in the off-road vehicle, Hayate explained Nanoha's theory and now they were able to ask her all the questions that came to their minds as if she could have all the answers.

"… it's not that it's being forced. The third personality you identify as _non-killer_ is trapped with the others. He or she… yes it might be a female personality, represents the abused part of this subject."

"…Yes, a good number of these individuals have suffered severe abuse and been molested since their childhood. This personality represents all the fear inside him; he is the victim that in a way connects with the victims of the other personalities."

"A series of abuse or traumatic experiences for extended periods may have triggered the killer personality, this one or those if we consider the possibility of being multiple, might be subjecting the third one."

"… there is a chance that he was born a sociopath, as Agent Verossa mentions, but then the hints of the other multiple personalities would not be present. He would be and behave like a full entity, he'd use a mask to fit within society, to hide, but he would not be split, as I suspect is the case."

"… I'd have to go back to the crime scene and with Agent Shamal's help, register some details to analyze the behaviors that happened during the scene as we saw it to fragment it and determine which part was done by each personality."

They had been so engrossed talking to Nanoha, bombarding her with question after question that they did not realize how long it had been until one of the members of the forensics team appeared to let them know they had finished.

"Shamal," Hayate ordered, "join Dr. Takamachi again and follow her indications for the records she needs. Signum, help them in anything they need."

The three women promptly left and Fate was able to tell that Nanoha did not look as intimidated as the first time. She had survived. Fate was already getting on her feet to join them when Hayate stopped her, indicating her to wait.

As soon as they were alone again, Hayate noticed Fate was impatient to go.

"Nothing is going to happen to her, Fate, Shamal, and Signum will be with her."

Fate looked at her surprised and opened her mouth to refute but she was unable to find a single argument.

"Oh, yeah… I know you are worried about her," Hayate said smiling, "despite anything you might say."

"I am not worried about her!" Fate decidedly denied exactly as Hayate was expecting her to do. And the smile drawn in her boss's face irritated her even more. "I am just wondering what you expect her to bring to this investigation."

"Well, I think so far she has brought a more than interesting input, don't you think?"

Fate remained silent. Yes, she had to agree Nanoha had looked at the situation in a way none of them had done.

"Even though you triggered everything by relating to the researchers of the Sankt Kaiser's projects, which was brilliant Fate, the fact that I brought Dr. Takamachi to collaborate more _intimately_ in the investigation does not mean I don't think you are capable of doing your job. You know that, right?"

The star agent of Section 6 remained silent wondering what was going on through Hayate's mind.

"Why her and not Scaglietti?" she asked at last, "After all, he is the one that was related to the Sankt Kaiser's research."

Hayate smiled like an enigmatic cat before answering. "Scaglietti is a relevant researcher, and brilliant without a doubt, but he does not possess Takamachi's expertise. Did you even read the dossier about her that YOUR team put together?"

Fate blushed furiously.

"I can tell you didn't," Hayate replied, still smiling and moving to get out of the ample vehicle that had served as a temporary meeting room. "I suggest you take a look at it and don't even try to say it's unrelated to the ongoing investigation… As of right now, Takamachi is assigned to your team."

— X —


	6. Tying up loose ends (I)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated E for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.
> 
> TRANSLATOR'S NOTES: I'm very grateful for the loyal readers -albeit silent- who are following the story, thank you for reading.
> 
> The new soundtrack for the chapter is "Hope" by Apocalyptica

* * *

**The Legacy** by Aleksei Volken

**Chapter 6. Tying up loose ends (I)**

" _There is no hunting like the hunting of man and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else thereafter."_

_-Ernest Hemingway._

— X —

**TSAB's Headquarters, Section 6 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes  
Midchilda City. Day 21, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 21:00 hrs.**

Dossier begin…

 _Subject:_ _**Takamachi, Nanoha** _

… _28 years old… female… IQ 130_

_Family Background:_

_Father: Takamachi, Shiro, age 62, former military, army special operations aggregate. Retired… Record on the Army: Classified._

_Mother: Takamachi, Momoko, age 60… former agent, covert operations. TSAB Intelligence Division, counterintelligence subdivision. Retired… Record ***Classified. Authorized level 9._

_Siblings:_

_Takamachi, Kyoya. 32, architect, martial arts expert, married to Tsukimura, Shinobu. Children: two. No relation to the army or TSAB._

_Takamachi, Miyuki. 31, aeronautical engineer, martial arts expert, single. No relation to the army or TSAB._

_Personal References: Tsukimura, Suzuka, roommate. Bannings, Alisa, roommate. No relation to the army or TSAB._

_Known relationships: none._

_Career: Applied Sciences with specialization in Neurosciences… Graduate Degree in Psychology and Neuropsychology… Doctor's Degree in Neurobiology and Cognitive Neuroscience (ongoing)._

_Current Position: Assistant Researcher at the Applied Neurosciences Laboratory at Midchilda's Rigelian University. Reports to: Dr. Jail Scaglietti._

_TSAB Status: External Consultant to the Tactical Division, Special Units._

_Temporary Assignment: Section 6, Special Unit I for Violent Crimes._

_Reports to: Enforcer Fate Testarossa Harlaown._

Dossier end…

— X —

Slowly, Fate placed the device where she had been reading on her desk. " _Damned be Hayate,"_ she thought. Her favorite _Colonel_ had known from the beginning what she was up to, surely since the very moment Fate requested clearance for Nanoha and Scaglietti to even set foot in TSAB; Hayate must have had read the same thing she had in her hands and maybe even more. That was the summary they were able to see. Hayate had a clearance level higher than theirs.

Going through the information on Nanoha's family, Fate wondered if she even knew about the professional past of her parents or how much she knew about it. As far as Fate was able to tell, they had both retired very young, almost the same age as she was now. They had retired and had completely turned their lives, certainly a major decision. Surely Hayate would know more about it and that was another reason why she had chosen Nanoha over Scaglietti to collaborate with them.

"I should've guessed," Fate mumbled.

"What? …Agent?" a somehow shy voice reached Fate by one of her sides and turned to meet a pair of deep blue eyes looking at her with curiosity.

After their tense moment that morning, Nanoha had reverted to referring to Fate as _Agent_. Needless to say, she still resented the way Fate had talked to her.

"N…nothing. Some documents I was reviewing," Fate quickly answered, closing Nanoha's file on her device.

"Do you usually talk to yourself while working?" Nanoha asked, still serious but with a dash of playfulness in her voice that made Fate slightly blush.

The best defense is the offense, so slightly clearing her throat, she decided to ignore the question and throw one back at her newest subordinate.

"How are they going with all the records of the Yazawa scene that you requested? We are having a review session with Colonel Yagami in about thirty minutes."

Nanoha was about to answer Fate's question when the cellphone she had just picked up from her bag to text Suzuka and Alisa (whom she hadn't been able to communicate with in all that) started ringing. The red-haired glanced at it and a contrite face, almost hitting herself on the head with the device when she saw who was calling, " _Yuuno-kun! I completely forgot about him! I didn't even call him to let him know I was not going to be able to meet him! Nanoha, you idiot, idiot!"_

Her phone was also showing the five missed calls she had from Yuuno.

Shooting Fate an embarrassed look to wait for her for a moment, she turned around to have some privacy, as she decided she at least owed him to take his phone call.

"Uh, yes… hi… Hi Yuuno-kun," Nanoha answered trying to find what to tell him.

"Yes, I am so sorry, Yuuno-kun, something came out of the blue at my work… and I was not even able to let you know…"

"Yes, I understand… and I am very sorry…"

As the conversation kept going with Nanoha apologizing on each sentence, Fate was unable to repress arching a brow; maybe the dossier on her was not entirely accurate and they would have to double-check if the girl was dating someone. " _And what the hell does it matter to you at all? Her being here is merely temporary… it does not matter who she is dating and that it didn't show in the dossier."_ But a part of Fate's mind told her that something like that would not have been overlooked, TSAB always had to keep every angle covered. Maybe it was something new, Fate kept pondering, that's why it did not appear on the dossier… however, despite her musings, she suddenly found herself annoyed at the incessant apologies by the redhead. Yes, she had forgotten something about that guy, so what? Why so much fuss?

"Yes, we will see each other some other time, Yuuno-kun… uhm… no, right now I don't know when that'll be… I mean… when I will be able… my schedule is complicated right now…" Nanoha kept trying to explain without really explaining anything at all.

" _If she apologizes again…"_ Fate thought exasperated.

"I'm so sorry, Yuuno-kun," Nanoha said and Fate just held her head with her hands pressing on her temples trying to control the irrational anger she was feeling just by hearing the brilliant academic apologizing for the umpteenth time.

Much to Fate's relief, the call finally ended and Nanoha turned to meet a pair of crimson eyes, cold and hard, that were looking at her with something remarkably similar to anger.

"Uh... I…"

"Don't say anything" Fate interrupted her with her voice slightly higher. Realizing that, she extended her hands in front of her, as to temper everything, and then she continued, calmer, "Do not apologize, please, if that was what you were about to say, please don't."

Nanoha remained silent for a moment, and making an effort not to apologize, she tried to explain.

"I had some plans for the weekend, but with Colonel Yagami's call out of the blue this morning, I was not able to cancel them."

"Some date with your boyfriend?" a voice behind her appeared. One they both could recognize very well.

"Colonel…" Nanoha said, turning to meet a pair of blue eyes, which unlike Fate's, did not look angry but thoroughly amused. "No… I was just going out with a friend, but I just forgot to cancel, and… well, he was worried about me."

"I see," and getting closer to them, she added with a fake pout, "I am sorry for having ruined your weekend plans." Fate was able to tell her boss and friend was not even sorry in the slightest. "But your help here has been paramount. Let's go to the conference room with the rest so we can do a recap of the day, as far as I understand you and Shamal are in for a lot of work tonight."

"Yes, tomorrow we will be waking Vivio up and I hope everything turns out as we expect," Nanoha replied enthused.

The day had been intense since they had been in Roshtaria for the first encounter with the unfortunate Yazawa family.

After Nanoha raised her hypothesis of a killer with a personality disorder, she, Shamal, and Signum had been busy gathering all the information the researcher needed to substantiate her analysis. They had asked the forensics team to take pictures they did not usually take, and Nanoha, just like Fate did, had returned again and again to the rooms, walking up and down the house taking notes, analyzing and drawing hypotheses in a red notebook she was carrying with her.

Even though Fate was also very busy supervising the teams at the scene, as well as the field investigators and the team that stayed in Midchilda, found herself glancing at the red-haired researcher every once in a while. At first, it seemed to be one of the many activities she was supervising, but after a while, she had to accept she liked to watch Nanoha working, she liked to see how she moved and how her face looked when she was completely concentrated.

It was early in the afternoon when they got back to the chopper that brought them back to TSABs headquarters where they would start piecing everything together.

Everyone was already gathered at the conference room when Hayate, Fate, and Nanoha arrived. Fate as the agent in charge of the case took the lead for the recap.

"Let's start with Shamal," Fate said, who could not wait to see what they had uncovered from the scene.

Shamal first explained the results of the autopsies from the Yazawa scene. Just as they suspected, Hideoshi Yazawa, Dr. Filith's husband, had been the last one to die. According to the investigations, the first injuries they inflicted on each other happened between one and one-thirty a.m., but the time of death was set around five a.m. The first one to die was Dr. Yazawa's daughter. Shamal explained that in the case of the Alpine family it had happened exactly the same, the children of the Alpine family had died first, and Logan Alpine had been the last one.

"We have a pattern then, for some reason he lets the fathers live up until the end. What about the other cases?" Fate asked, with her eyes shining, maybe they would be able to unravel the tangle they had at hands, they only needed a thread they could be able to follow.

"I'm still waiting to receive the information on the case of Dr. Mariel Atenza, but in all the other cases it has been the same. I am almost sure that it will be the same result in the murder case of the Atenza's."

Fate glanced at Nanoha, she had no idea how knowing that could help them find a clue that could lead them to the killer, but she was hoping the scientist could come up with one. The red-haired was scribbling something in her notebook with that frown of concentration that Fate already liked so much.

"What about the bodies of Agents Reinard and Lacroix? Were they found somewhere?" Fate asked, mentally scolding herself for the distraction and turning her entire attention again to Shamal.

"No, Fate The bodies of the field agents that were in charge of the security of the Yazawa family have not been found yet. The field teams are still out, using K9 units, but nothing yet."

But that was not the only thing unsettling. Shamal's attitude when she grabbed the results of one of the autopsies told Fate that whatever the scientist was about to say, she was not going to like it… at all.

"At first, we thought the killer had not left a message, at least not one explicitly written in this scene. We certainly did not find anything at the house. When he performed the first examination of the bodies at the crime scene, we did not notice it, in fact, the coroner did not detect it on the first general exam. I must say the forensics team focused primarily on the bodies of Dr. Yazawa and her husband, at first. But just recently, Dr. Kanzaki called me about a _detail_ in the body of Dr. Yazawa's daughter.

Shamal had already given way too many explanations. Fate's suspicions were now a certainty.

"What is it Shamal?" Fate asked, composed, at least on the outside.

Shamal activated the gigantic screen of the conference room to show a picture of Kaede Yazawa's body, the young girl that had been murdered along with her family. She was a couple of years older than Megane Alpine's twins, but still, to Fate's and everybody's eyes, she was still a child, nonetheless. No murder was indifferent to Fate, however, when the bodies belonged to children, a part of her heart died with them and a cold rage spread within her, from the core of her being and to her body. She had been in a massacre as a child and somehow, she had survived. The boys and girls, victims of that murder had not been as _lucky_ as she had been.

"Kaede Yazawa died due to the injuries caused by the penetration of a sharp point instrument, of at least twenty-three inches wide…"

"Are you saying…" Fate left her ´sentence midway.

"Yes, similar to what happened with Dr. Yazawa, except the instrument used in the doctor's husband, was not as long. It took longer for the mother to bleed out since there was not an affectation of vital organs… as deep."

Fate and all of them could imagine what a 23-inch instrument of that kind could do.

"Dr. Kanzaki found this, inserted in the victim's thorax when she was performing the autopsy."

Shamal displayed them in the next picture. A small inset of some sort of transparent material with very clear words inscribed in black. A message… without doubt intended to Fate.

" _She did not deserve to live… unlike you, Fate."_

Fate felt like shuddering just by looking at it, then the killer, that killer, not only was indeed referring to her in the first message but also, he knew a lot about her. Way too much.

"What is that message referring to?" Nanoha asked at that moment. That was a part that no one outside Fate's team knew. Of course, no one had bothered telling Nanoha about it so she was completely out of the loop.

Shamal looked at Hayate requesting her approval. But it was Hayate herself who stepped forward. "An aspect that had been kept up to this moment, Dr. Takamachi, is that in the previous crime scene, the killer left us a message… and as we can see, he did in this one as well."

"The fact that the killer leaves messages completely alters the scheme of the profile I have been working on. Do you have any idea how important this is?" she said, flabbergasted that she had been kept in the dark with something as important as that, looking at Hayate and then at Fate. "Besides, you wouldn't be suggesting that it is explicitly referring to Agent Testarossa, right?" Nanoha was still part surprised and part disconcerted.

"We were not entirely sure about that… until now," Hayate rounded off, looking at Fate who was just staring at the message on the screen with her jaw clenched and who had not said a single word yet.

"But how can you be so sure?" Nanoha insisted now looking at Fate, scared of what she was seeing in the blonde's look.

Hayate tried to speak but Fate interrupted her standing up, talking to Nanoha but still looking at the screen. Her voice was pure ice.

"It is about me, Miss Takamachi. That is all you need to know. Shamal, give Miss Takamachi the details of the Alpine crime scene," after that order she turned to look at her, the crimson eyes matching the coldness of her voice. "We need you to take into account those messages for the profile you mention. And we need it fast."

"Signum, Zafira, I need you two to check my background. Everything, absolutely everything since 2020 and before that if necessary. I will work with whatever you need."

"Fate," Hayate called her, understanding what her friend was thinking. "Wait, the message might be to you, but we are not sure yet that all of this has to do with you."

Fate stared harshly at her. "Hayate, it has EVERYTHING to do with me."

"I don't understand anything of what's going on, but there is something very wrong here. Agent, Colonel, maybe you think it's irrelevant, but if you truly want me to deliver a detailed profile of the person you are looking for, NOTHING is irrelevant," Nanoha was worried and disconcerted by Fate's reaction, her rational part told her to wait but she could just not keep without speaking her mind.

"Fate, there's something else," Signum said, who was the only one besides Nanoha that dared break the tense atmosphere in the room and speak fearlessly to Fate, "that makes us think that Hayate may be on to something."

"What is it?" Fate asked without much conviction.

Signum then showed on the screen the pictures of the researchers involved in the Sankt Kaiser investigations, those who had been murdered and those who hadn't.

"All the researchers in this group have, or rather had, a family. Except for two."

She selected two pictures and enlarged them.

"Zest Grangaitz and Scaglietti."

"We have already ruled out Scaglietti, we've corroborated he was at his lab at the moment of the Alpine murders," Alto said at that moment, looking gently at Nanoha since she had been the one who had compiled the data. "But we are still unable to find Dr. Zest Grangaitz."

Fate only required a couple of seconds to run the possibilities.

"Miss Takamachi, we need you to cross-examine the information of your profile with all the information we have found on Dr. Grangaitz and tell us if there is a chance he might be the killer," and without waiting for an answer, Fate kept giving out orders.

"Regardless of Miss Takamachi's profile, Alto, our number one priority right now has to be track Grangaitz down… Signum, Zafira, additionally to my background, about Grangaitz…"

"Eh… wait," Nanoha tried to say but Fate was not listening to her, and much less was looking at her.

"Lucino, Alto, we need more information on Grangaitz. We need to check out the slightest detail about him. We might require a special clearance for that, but I am sure Hayate will be able to help us with that…"

"Agent Testarossa…" Nanoha kept trying but Fate was simply unable to stop. Even though she was controlled and completely absorbed in the case as she always was, Fate felt like something was about to shatter in her. She had to keep going, to keep moving because if she stopped, that something might irreparably break.

"Verossa, Griffith… we need to discuss the next course of action…"

Nanoha turned to see Hayate looking for help but the commander was with her arms crossed merely looking at Fate. She knew what was going on and she also knew what her friend was doing. Taking control was the only way that she knew and that she could. Hayate's gesture was that of " _take it easy, do you best,"_ but Fate's attitude was not helping at all for that.

"Miss Takamachi, something that is very important…"

"Doctor," Nanoha interrupted, raising her voice and looking at her with a dangerous glint in her eyes. She was getting fed up with Fate's attitude and for the first time in the past few minutes Fate seemed to actually see her at last.

"Excuse me?"

"Yes, it's Doctor," Nanoha said, emphasizing each letter, "Takamachi, not miss. If you are going to back down on your word… Agent Testarossa, and you are going to forget our truce, at least have the consideration to address appropriately to me."

Fate narrowed her eyes looking at the academic who in turn was looking at her defiantly. They were in a very important meeting with ALL of Fate's team, as well as her colleague investigators and her boss, and she was interrupting her just to get her title clear?

"Fine, _Doctor_ Takamachi… before you interrupted me, I was trying to tell you…"

"No," Nanoha interrupted her again. "You are not going to tell me anything until you explain what is going on here. I need to know why you are so sure those messages are for you."

Fate pressed her lips together vexed, Nanoha was stubbornly looking at her and they were again entangled in a duel of stares.

"You do not need to know. You have the content of the messages and the certainty that they are for me. That's all, period."

Fate tried to sound as determinant as possible and any other person would have been intimidated under the look Fate gave the red-haired, but apparently, she was impervious to it.

"And on what assumption is that statement based?" Nanoha asked, raising her eyebrows. "I did not know you were also an expert on that field."

Fate remained silent with her jaw tense and her fists clenched to her sides. She looked at Hayate but the Colonel was waiting to see how she handled the situation, Fate knew it, Nanoha was her responsibility and in that matter, Hayate was ruthless.

What she did next, left everyone frozen.

She took a folder where she had all the information about the murdered researched, printed out, including a file that was very personal to her. Before the meeting, she was considering sharing that information with Nanoha to have her point of view, but she certainly had not imagined she would have to do it under those circumstances. With a single movement, she threw the folder on the table in Nanoha's direction.

"That is the information we considered you required to analyze all the researchers that have been murdered up to now. The first case corresponds to Dr. Precia Testarossa. She was my mother. And you are correct, I can't claim to be an expert, but I have some… experience."

She said all that with a distant, cold, and detached voice.

"Review the information and get ready with Shamal for the protocol of awakening Vivio tomorrow, first thing in the morning. We need to speak to her."

After that she waited while Nanoha just stared blankly at the folder on the table, trying to assimilate what she had just heard.

As Nanoha would not say anything else, Fate finished. "You all have your instructions, would there be anything else to add… Colonel?"

"You are all dismissed, go on and carry out your assignments," Hayate said after a few seconds.

Fate was getting ready to leave before anyone else, but Hayate's soft voice stopped her.

"Fate, hold on a second, please."

Nanoha had not moved from her place, she was still standing next to the table, barely touching the folder that was close to her.

With a slight gesture, Hayate indicated to Signum to close the door behind her, being the last of the group to leave.

After a few moments, Hayate addressed Nanoha first.

"I understand you are a civilian, Dr. Takamachi, and we really appreciate the help you are providing for this case. Your collaboration this morning has opened a number of possibilities we couldn't even imagine, and your help will play a key role with our survivor, and quite possibly, the only witness. Now more than ever she is very important.

Hayate paused and stood up, since the other two women were still standing as well, nailed on their places. Fate, like a block of ice and Nanoha visibly saddened and dismayed.

"However, there is a way to do things, a protocol if you may, that you are required to learn. One does not question a superior in front of other members of the team," she looked at Fate slightly amused and added. "Believe me, I know Agent Testarossa is not the best setting the example in that sense, so please don't let that about her… rub off on you."

Much to her sadness, Hayate realized the remark had not produced the slightest reaction in Fate.

"I am very sorry…" Nanoha said, at last, seemingly recovering her ability to speak. "It's just that sometimes…"

"Oh, I know, I know that our star agent can be irritating at times, it's part of what makes her so good at what she does… although it comes with its downsides."

"Fate," Hayate waited until she looked at her before continuing. "I do not know what the issue is between you two, but Dr. Takamachi is part of your team now, and we have in our hands the most difficult case we have ever dealt with. Fix what's wrong and fix it now."

There was no amusement in Hayate's voice in her last phrase. Fate knew it had not been a suggestion and noticed a slight shadow of sadness in Hayate's gaze as she walked to the door. She was also sorry when Hayate had to order her things in that way.

"Also, Fate, you and I will have a conversation later. Find me in my office when you are done," she sighed as she opened the door and stepped out stating, "It's going to be a long night."

Fate understood Hayate in more than one way, she was the one most subject to the pressure, and in all truth, Hayate was relying on her good sense and her ability to solve the case despite the concerns of other people and despite all the ghosts Fate would have to face in the process. She had demanded to stay on the case. She had to step up her game.

"Fate, I am so sorry…" Nanoha started to say, bringing Fate out of her thoughts, but she only asked coldly.

"Aren't you tired of apologizing?" Fate looked at her. After Hayate's lecture and everyone leaving, she had been able to calm down inside, but she still felt the cold fury flowing within her. Too many things were happening to figure out why that woman had the ability to throw her off her game with such ease, and losing her focus was not something she could afford to do.

"You are right, if I did not get carried away by my impulses, maybe I would not have to apologize but I want to tell you that… I worry about you." Nanoha wanted to tell Fate that since the very first moment that she had stepped into TSAB with Dr. Scaglietti, no… since the very first moment she had seen her eyes that first night and had noticed the shade of sadness in them, she had wanted to know the reason for that sadness, of such pain. And maybe now she understood a little better where that sadness came from, although not in the way she would have wished for.

"I wanted to help…" she bit her lip to stop from saying ' _you'_ since it seemed Fate was not in the best mood to listen to that.

"The best way you can help is by doing what I have requested," Fate said, staring intensely at her. "If you can deliver the profile of the individual we are looking for and we are also able to bring Vivio back successfully, that would be…"

Fate moved her head trying to find the appropriate word, but there did not seem to be a correct one.

"… You have no idea how important it would be."

Nanoha just looked at Fate feeling something aching inside her. She had behaved like an idiot in her desperation to know and with that, she had driven Fate away from her.

Picking up the folder on the table, and ignoring the rational part of her mind, she let herself be guided again by her impulse and moved around the table to get closer to Fate.

"I am very sorry… about your mother, Fate," she grazed Fate's arm with shaky fingers. "I would not have wanted to find out like this, and I understand my responsibility in your reaction. I assure you it won't happen again. But would you… could you trust me?"

Fate looked at her, still distant but also intrigued.

Gathering her courage, Nanoha decided to explain with more clarity.

"Ever since I arrived in Section 6, it seems to me you don't want me here and that you have done everything possible to keep me away. I want to help with everything you asked but I can't do it if you don't trust me. I don't want to confront you every time, and I suppose you don't want that either… but you try so hard to keep me away, that…"

Fate held her breath, surprised. She was not expecting such a direct affirmation from Nanoha and she was right, in a way, she did not want her there, but not because she didn't trust her; the red-haired gave off a sense of sincerity and honesty that it was difficult to ignore. She did not want her there for entirely different reasons. She did not want her to see how dark human nature could be at times, she did not want her to see what came out of that darkness, and more than anything else, she did not want her to see her own darkness. She did not want that girl to see the ghosts of her past that tormented her after so many years.

"It's nothing personal, Nanoha," Fate said at last as she deeply stared at a pair of blue eyes that seemed lighted at that moment. "It is true, I'd rather you were not involved in any of this but only because I don't like having civilians that might get hurt with the things we do, but I do value the help you can provide."

Nanoha felt slightly disappointed with the answer. Fate was not going to let her in so easily, that she was already expecting to a certain point; what she was not expecting was the coldness with which Fate kept treating her.

Nodding, she decided to give Fate her space and do what she had been asked to do. If that was the only way she could help her as of that moment, she would do that. But she would not back down in her determination of getting closer to her.

"I will go and find Agent Shamal," Nanoha informed her before leaving, tightly gripping the folder she was keeping in between her arms.

Fate remained for a while in the meeting room after Nanoha left, just thinking. Various thoughts ramming through her mind, the killer's messages, the images of the crimes, the memories of her mother and her sister, Nanoha's hurt look, the image of her leaving the conference room, and the emptiness she had felt when the red-haired had left. She shook her head trying to clear her mind when Signum and Hayate rushed into the room. Her expressions, usually calm under any circumstance, looked unnaturally altered.

"The bodies of agents Reinard and Lacroix appeared," Fate heard Hayate saying it and frowned wondering why that had her friends so upset, and understood it with the next phrase, "at my house… Vita just arrived and found them."

Fate jumped up as if propelled by the recoil of a shotgun.

"Let's get going," she said heading out.

— X —


	7. Tying up loose ends (II)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated E for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.
> 
> TRANSLATOR'S NOTES: It actually makes me incredibly happy to find out about readers that were eager to continue reading (and who deserve my undying admiration for not resorting to google translate all these years to find out what happens even in the butchered way google translate delivers) and are picking up the story again. I would have surrendered to google translate's temptation. 
> 
> The new soundtrack for the chapter is "Hope" by Apocalyptica

* * *

**The Legacy** by Aleksei Volken

**Chapter 7. Tying up loose ends (II)**

" _Of all animals, man is the only one that is cruel.  
_ _He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it."_

_-Mark Twain_

— X —

**TSAB's Headquarters, Section 6 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes  
Midchilda City. Day 22, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 23:00 hrs.**

Just as Hayate had foreseen, it was a long night for everyone. When Hayate, Signum, and Fate arrived at Hayate's apartment, Vita was waiting for her directly at the entrance of the building. Even though the girl was still very young, she had all the intention of enrolling in military school and follow the steps of Signum and Zafira; she was a tough girl but that did not make up for the fact that she was still a teenager and had seen a gruesome scene.

As they walked to her home, Hayate swore to herself that the one responsible for that would pay very dearly for his affront.

In the middle of the living room at the Yagami house lay the headless bodies of agents Lacroix and Reinard. It did not take a genius to understand that was a direct and concrete threat.

Even though she was completely in control of herself, Hayate was red furious and that was a rare sight. The bastard had dared come into _her_ home and threaten _her_ family. He was turning it into a personal matter with the investigators; first with the messages to Fate and now this.

They had their second intensive forensic session of the day, interrogating everyone at the building despite being so late and requesting the surveillance videos of the building and the neighboring streets, while other teams swept the streets looking for any clue before any possible evidence could be lost as the day dawned.

Except for Vita, all of Hayate's family worked at TSABs headquarters, although they lived outside in a nearby residential area. Given the circumstances, Hayate decided to move everyone temporarily to the base where there was housing for outside agents, for the personnel assigned permanently to the base, or for the occasion when they had to spend a lot of hours, sometimes entire days at the office. The Yagamis had always preferred to live outside, separate from TSABs facilities but now Hayate was very aware they could not take any risks.

The first rays of sunlight found them all performing the tasks they had been assigned to, despite how tired they were. At that moment, they were at the final details for Vivio's awakening, and the only ones present in the medical room where they had the girl, were Nanoha, Shamal, and Signum, who had gone to ask for the estimated time for the process to begin since Fate and Hayate wanted to be there.

Nanoha had just entered the room, where Vivio was being kept, to adjust the necessary instruments for her rehabilitation, when Shamal and Signum heard a cheerful male voice behind them.

"Great job, gals," a very smiling Verossa Acous said, who had entered without announcing himself and without any other regard, handed Shamal a steamy cup of coffee. "I am sorry Lieutenant Signum, I did not know you were here, so I didn't bring you anything."

Signum had the impression he wouldn't have brought her anything in any case, but she refrained from commenting.

"Ah! Thank you so much Verossa, you are an angel fallen from heaven, this is exactly what I need at this moment," said Shamal, taking the cup and taking a slight sip almost immediately.

"I thought you did not like coffee," Signum commented puzzled, it was already weird enough seeing Verossa being so thoughtful to also add Shamal being so friendly towards him.

"I couldn't have received anything better right now," Shamal said with a slightly sad smile as she sipped her coffee.

Nanoha and she had stayed all night on the medical wing of TSABs offices and did not hear about what happened at the Yagami house until much later. As they were working, Shamal spent a good part of her time trying to cheer Nanoha up, talking to her about Fate and giving her some useful tips about the blonde agent. Shamal really liked the girl and was completely sure Nanoha cared about Fate. And all the gods knew that Fate needed someone strong enough to get close to her despite all the resistance and bring down the walls she had built around her heart. Shamal had a strong feeling that Nanoha could be that person.

It was not until several hours later, when they had everything under control, that Hayate informed Shamal what had happened. The last thing they wanted was to distract her from the work she was doing with Nanoha or to uselessly worry her, but even a couple of hours later, Shamal still felt unsettled and affected by what Hayate had told her.

"Come on, everything will be just fine," the man said as he placed himself behind Shamal and started to slowly massage her shoulders. "It's been a long night and you two have worked very hard,"

Seeing him, Signum restrained a sudden urge to grab Verossa by the shirt and slam him against the wall.

"Hmmm, Verossa, that feels really nice. I think I have been more tense than usual," Shamal was leaning back on her chair, with the hot cup of coffee between her hands, her head laid back, and with her eyes closed, clearly enjoying the massage.

"How much longer then, Shamal?" Signum bluntly asked, trying to make disappear the image in front of her.

"Hey, Lieutenant, give her one minute to relax. Nothing is going to happen to super Enforcer Testarossa and Colonel Yagami if they wait five more minutes." Verossa glanced at Signum, from his position behind Shamal, his hands still working on Shamal's shoulders with slow and soft, rhythmical movements, in an almost… intimate way.

"Hmm, thanks Verossa, but I understand my sister… I also know Fate and Hayate." Shamal sat back up straight and through the intercom asked Nanoha, "Hey, Nanoha-san, what's our estimated time?"

"Thirty minutes, give or take, Shamal-san," Nanoha replied without stopping what she was doing with one of the machines.

Verossa's hands never left Shamal's shoulders, and although not massaging them anymore, now they were merely warmly placed over them.

Before Shamal could say anything, Signum stated, "We'll be here in forty-five minutes," and rushed out of the room.

"Your sister should also take a break, and a coffee," Verossa said to Shamal and both laughed.

Outside, unable to listen to what they had said, Signum saw them laughing and felt a heat spreading in her chest. She had never wanted to punch someone like she wanted to punch Verossa.

— X —

Like Swiss clocks, forty-five minutes later, Fate, Hayate, and Signum arrived at the medical wing, finding Nanoha and Shamal. Signum was relieved to see that Verossa's face was not around.

"Are we ready, doctors?" Hayate asked.

"As much as we can be, Hayate," Shamal replied with a smile. "Nanoha has been monitoring the child since last night, we have suspended the medication that was keeping her under the induced coma for forty-eight hours now. She is ready to wake up. The chemical cocktail we have prepared for her will be very light for her but will help us wake her up so she will be more responsive, and we will be monitoring all her reactions."

"If everything goes well, we expect she won't be in the catatonic state she showed on the reports," Nanoha also added.

Fate merely nodded.

Shamal made a signal to Nanoha, indicating she should go inside with Signum while she kept everything running. Vivio knew Nanoha, she had spent months with her, and even if it had been only twice a week, the girl had liked the researcher a lot, so her face would be the first thing Vivio would see as she woke up.

Shamal began the procedure and through one of the tubes Vivio was still connected to, the medication to wake her up started to flow.

Nanoha, in the meantime, already sitting in a tall chair next to the girl, held her hand and tenderly stroked her hair once in a while. After fifteen minutes, when Shamal indicated, Nanoha started to speak softly to her until the girl started to open her eyes.

The light in the room had been dimmed enough so it wouldn't hurt Vivio's eyes but enough so she could clearly see Nanoha.

At first, she looked disconcerted, but little by little she began focusing, and just as if Nanoha's voice calling her with soft comforting words assuring her everything was all right, had trapped her, her bi-colored eyes fixed on the researcher until a glow of recognition sparkled in her eyes.

Bit by bit, very slowly, the girl squeezed Nanoha's hand with more strength each time, pulling her towards her, until the red-haired had her cradled her in her arms. Vivio was shaking and sobbing lightly, but other than that, she did not emit a single sound.

"Is everything all right?" Fate asked Shamal, slightly worried.

Shamal looked at what was going on, trying to identify if Vivio was presenting any reaction to the medication, worried as well, but sure that Nanoha would have already told them something if that had been the case. Until she understood.

"I think… Vivio is… crying."

Shamal said that almost beaming.

"Fate!" Shamal turned around to tell her superiors excited. "She reacted, Fate! She reacted positively to Nanoha's treatment!"

The four women looked at each other and sighed relieved.

"When will we be able to speak with her?" Signum asked immediately, earning a reproving look from Shamal.

"Signum! It's not even been five minutes since she woke up! Do you have any idea how delicate her condition was?"

Signum opened her mouth to answer but Hayate came to her rescue before she would make things worse.

"We know, Shamal, we do," her sister said conciliatory. "Signum, Fate, and I are very happy and grateful to you and Nanoha, it has been an outstanding work. You tell us the next step and the best way to work with the girl. I understand she is our best option right now."

Somewhat reluctantly, Shamal accepted. "Let's give Nanoha a little longer with her and when we have a more precise diagnosis, I will let you know immediately."

"Excellent, Shamal," Fate said, openly smiling, she was really glad to see the little girl had at least gotten out from the state she was in when they brought her back from the scene, ten days ago. For Fate, it seemed like it had been months, but it had only been a few days. It must be the burnout "Thank you for your effort."

"It wouldn't have been possible without Nanoha, I will tell you later everything she did, but it was truly brilliant," Shamal was wide smiling, happier for Vivio than anything else.

"Great job, Shamal," Fate and Hayate congratulated her and hugged Shamal warmly and affectionately.

"You also have to tell that to Nanoha!" the doctor demanded blushing.

"Why of course we will, we promise, don't we, Fate?" Hayate said, looking at Fate with a complicit smile.

"Uhm, yeah sure. Of course," Fate wanted to do it, but she felt very self-conscious just to imagine it as she watched the researcher hugging the little girl still telling her sweet, comforting words to her.

Fate and Hayate headed to the door to leave Nanoha and Shamal to their work, but Signum lingered a bit longer, looking at Shamal.

"Very good job," she told her, slightly punching her arm.

"Ouch… Signum," Shamal protested rubbing her arm a bit.

Maybe the punch had not been that slight after all.

"Oops… I just wanted…" Signum realized at that moment that maybe the soldier's camaraderie did not suit doctors very well.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it; We are not nine anymore, you know?" Shamal looked at her a little amused but also flustered, still rubbing her arm, and then she turned to her monitors slightly blushed without saying anything else.

Signum then went out to catch up with Hayate and Fate who was barely holding back her laughter.

"That was brilliant, Signum," she said at last, without being able to resist it anymore.

"Testarossa…" Signum warned her with a dangerously grave tone in her voice.

"Fate does have a point, Signum. Was it really that hard to give Shamal a hug?" Hayate added, not as amused as Fate.

"A hug would have been something too ' _civilized'_ for a warrior like Signum, Hayate," Fate kept on, taunting the dangers and now completely laughing out loud, which earned her an accurate punch to her arm.

"Oof… now I understand Shamal," she said, rubbing her arm a little.

"Hey, do I have to remind you two you are not in kindergarten anymore? You are at work in presence of your superior," Hayate looked sternly at them, to which Signum only grunted and Fate finally kept quiet but without stopping smiling. The two walked slightly behind Hayate, looking defiantly at each other but in a playful way.

Signum was just two years older than Fate and since she had met Hayate at elementary school, they also knew each other since childhood. They had always shared some sort of healthy rival-competitive friendship, and they grew up to respect each other in their fields. That was why, when Hayate offered Signum to work under Fate's command, and vice versa, neither gave it a second thought before accepting.

Signum appreciated even those rare moments in which Fate teased her… like that one. But this thing with Shamal was different. She had been annoyed by the comment, maybe because she had not been able yet to remove the image of Shamal laughing while Verossa touched her. So, if she could not hit Verossa, she could at least punch Fate.

"We should spar together a little bit one of these days, Testarossa, it's been a while since we trained together. Clearly, you are getting out of shape."

Signum's subtle challenge did not go unnoticed by Fate, but she actually thought it was a good idea.

"You wish…" Fate mumbled. With Signum she was able to go all out without getting worried about hurting her. Signum was not as tall as she but almost, and not as fast either, but she was extraordinarily strong and of deadly blows; she knew unimaginable melee combat strategies. Much to her regret, Fate recognized (although never out loud) that when she won it had been difficult for her, and always, even when she lost, she learned something new.

"So…?" Signum was still waiting for an answer.

"You know it," Fate said. "As soon as we get the chance."

"Dear gods," Hayate muttered, feeling that Fate would have it even rougher than usual.

— X —

The rest of the day was uneventful, it would have been an exceptional weekend had it not been for the killer who had decided to act too fast, and shortly after the Alpine crime.

By the afternoon, Shamal and Nanoha had an estimate of Vivio's condition; even though the little girl was out of the catatonic state she had been in and it could be said that, technically, the girl was no longer in shock, she would not speak. And she was extremely terrified of the environment she was in.

During a meeting they held in the afternoon, Nanoha suggested giving her at least a couple of days. She would stay all the time at TSABs offices and even if she was not physically all the time with Vivio, she and Shamal would take turns to monitor the results.

They agreed that two days later, Hayate and Fate, with Nanoha's help, would talk with her. They would need pictures of the Alpine family and they were hoping, of any suspect, that they could show to the girl.

The results of the forensics tests had all come up negative to toxic substances, anesthetics, or any other kind of drug. And neither of Hayate's neighbors in her building had been able to identify anything. It was as if the two headless bodies had suddenly appeared in her living room.

"That makes absolutely no sense," Hayate said with a severe voice, remembering the scene Vita had to see as she had arrived at her home, the place where she should have been safer than any other. "I doubt that the guy had a helicopter, he must have arrived by road, and it's at least four hours from Roshtaria to Mid. And even after crossing the entire urban area he somehow managed to reach the twentieth floor of our building with TWO headless bodies without anyone seeing him? It's impossible."

"Not really," Nanoha said pensively as if she hadn't noticed the dangerous tone in Hayate's voice.

"What do you mean?" Fate asked before Hayate could say anything.

"Yes, there are things that we traditionally do not see, or rather, we stop seeing. For example, no one notices the people sweeping the streets as we go to work, Or the people that clean the tables when we are at a restaurant. We consider them as part of the background, and we don't even look at them. Your men, Colonel, have been looking for a _suspect_ , for someone who does not belong. But what if the killer was hiding in something we all expect to see and therefore we don't?"

Fate felt somewhat silly as she listened to Nanoha's explanation. What she was saying was true, but the situations in which they had found themselves in the past days had led them to look for something extraordinary more than something ordinary.

Hayate was speechless, and it was not an understatement, from the surprise.

"Lucino, Alto… review all the maintenance activities, both on the Alpine residency, the Yazawa, as well as their neighbors that have those homes in their visibility range. What Nanoha is saying is completely true. It's even possible that the killer was observing them like that from the beginning, completely hidden in plain sight with the day to day activities."

"We have to consider all kinds of activities, from repairing services, maintenance, trash collection, everything… even if there was someone out there handing out flyers," Fate added to the instruction Hayate had given.

The Colonel then looked at Signum and Zafira. "Signum, I'm going to need you and Zafira to go back to both crime scenes and look at them with different eyes. I need to see them as a military objective, the killer was observing the families for a while, a long while probably. Considering Nanoha's point of view we need you to find that observation point. We will stop looking at the crime scene from within and will now look at it from the outside, from all possible angles."

"What would be the best way for the killer to be able to blend in and enter our building, not only him but also carrying the corpses?" Hayate asked in another tenor, looking at Nanoha with a new respect for her.

Everyone kept thinking until Nanoha, again, suggested.

"Moving houses?"

Hayate even jumped from her seat, slamming the table and turning around rushing with orders for her team.

"Griffith, get you and your team to my building, now. Our neighbors from the eighteenth floor are newly arrived. They stated not seeing anything out of the ordinary during the day. Of course, for them, the fact of receiving furniture is not suspicious at all. We need to double-check if they, or someone else, received one or more over-sized packages."

"Immediately," and as he said that he was already standing at the door contacting his team through his personal intercom. "Enforcer Lanster, ready to go in five minutes."

As Griffith stepped out, Verossa brought attention to an interesting point.

"Do you realize the implications of that, Hayate?" the man said with deep concern. "That would mean he chose to kill the Yazawa family based on the moment in which he could break into your apartment to leave a warning."

Hayate remained silent, being thankful that Vita had been out almost all day with her classmates. She did not want to imagine what could have happened if she had been there.

"And not only that," Verossa looked at Shamal," he does not only know Fate. He knows you. He left the heads at the Yazawa scene as a warning for all TSAB; those bodies, though, were for you."

"The fucking asshole is trying to mock us," Zafira said, and whose line of thought had been similar to Hayate's, worried about Vita.

Nanoha, who had already reviewed the file Fate had given her, and now knew general information about the previous murders, ventured to add.

"I wouldn't be so sure it's a mocking attempt, Zafira-san. We cannot think about this subject in the same way we would think about a _normal_ person, his standards and his… moral code, for the lack of a better word, are completely different from ours. And if the hypothesis of multiple personalities is real, then it's even more unpredictable."

"How is your profile going in that sense, Dr. Takamachi? I realize you have been very busy with Vivio and I feel like a tyrant with you after everything you have done, but…"

"I understand Colonel," Nanoha said, quickly moving her hands in front of her. "I also want this guy to be caught."

Taking her red notebook, she opened it to look at her notes.

"I need a little more time to organize everything I have, and I believe I can deliver a detailed profile in one more day, but circling back to what Zafira-san was saying, I believe this man is challenging you. And well, there does seem to be a hint of mockery, but it's more like he is saying that you do not measure up to him."

"What makes you say that?" Signum wanted to know, very serious, no one would insinuate that about her team and she wanted to know why the researcher thought that.

"He left two heads, the most important part of the body, at the crime scene. That was, in fact, a threat and also a challenge for TSAB as an organization. But to dare bring the bodies as waste to Colonel Yagami's house has turned the action not only into something personal, but it would seem he is trying to say you cannot catch him, no matter what he does."

"And there's where the asshole is wrong," Zafira said, gritting his teeth.

"Don't get pissed just yet, Zafira," Fate calmed him down.

"In fact, those kinds of braggings will make him slip and make a mistake," Signum said, with a better understanding of Nanoha's approach.

"Not only that, after reading the data from the previous murders," Nanoha paused as if carefully considering what she would say next, "it seems to me that something has changed in the killer between the murders of the Yazawa and Alpine's families and the previous ones."

"In a way, Nanoha-san is right," Shamal said. "In no other scene were messages or notes identified. It's like he decided the moment in which he would start his communication with us,"

"Exactly…!" Nanoha exclaimed. "That was the part I was missing, thanks Shamal-san!"

"Uhmmm, you're welcome, but… for what?"

Nanoha was excited and with her eyes sparkling as if she had suddenly realized something very important.

"Yes! There are three stages to the evolution of this killer; the first and the one where I have the most… concerns," she paused to look seriously at Fate, she wanted to make sure that what she said next would be with the utmost respect to the situation of her family, "is about Dr. Testarossa. That incident seems to be indeed the first in the series, but some things worry me and that makes it… unique. The third stage starting with the Alpine family, clearly marked by the communication, and the second one, and the one I am currently analyzing, is when the other researchers were murdered."

"Something has changed in the subject from one stage to the other and the most significant stage we need to understand is the second. That is the one that turned him into what he is now."

"Excellent, Dr. Takamachi," Hayate said with renewed hopes. Including that girl had been the best decision she had made in a long time. "Tell us what you need and we will help you."

At that exact moment, Vice entered, barely containing his excitement. He had stayed in Roshtaria coordinating the field operations and he was just back.

After a brief greeting, he informed them that he had a lead they would have to work on.

Everyone waited with expectation.

"When I was supervising the interviews with the neighbors of the Yazawas, an older lady, I was struck by the insistence with which an older woman complained to one of Chrono's guys so I went over to see what was going on."

"According to the lady's statement, she was very upset because the _guy_ of the pest fumigations had not returned, and she had a major issue with some bugs. As much as she insisted with the guy, he never returned."

Fate felt her heart racing in anticipation.

"The lady is not very sound in many aspects, but her compulsions made her take a picture of the guy to report him and somehow thought we were her best option," having said that, Vice connected his device to the digital projector of the meeting room and everyone was able to see the picture of a man in a grey jumpsuit with a baseball cap and shades.

Despite that, everyone was able to recognize him.

"Zest Grangaitz," Fate said, clenching her fists.

"Lucino, send this information to Griffith. He's going to need it during his inspection in my building," Hayate asked and then turned to Fate.

"Fate, I would like Verossa's team to specifically track down Grangaitz," Hayate knew Fate was not going to like it, but she was hoping she would understand her reasons. Verossa himself was looking at her with arched brows, the last thing we wanted was for Fate to kill him right there.

"What are you saying?" Fate asked incredulously.

"Wait before jumping to conclusions. Verossa has Akira and Ren in the team and we already know what they can do. They are basically at Signum and Zafira's level," with a hand she gestured at her siblings to not even dare question the comparison.

"I am as thrilled as you all for this finding, but I _don't want_ to leave the other leads of the murder that we are already following. There is a chance that Grangaitz might not be the killer."

"Hayate, for all heavens' sake! After everything we have discussed, the guy is even one of my mother's peers…" Fate was looking at Hayate flabbergasted.

"The only thing I am saying is that I don't want to drop everything we are doing just to look for Grangaitz," and turning to look at Nanoha, asked her, "The first thing we need to do, as soon as it is possible, is to show Vivio a picture of Zest Grangaitz, Dr. Takamachi. I am counting on your help."

Nanoha nodded vigorously. Things were starting to move too fast for her but she could feel the same rush the others were feeling.

"We are all still working together on this, Fate; Verossa will keep us updated on everything and if we have to prepare a raid to capture him, I guarantee you will be there," Hayate finished saying looking at her two best agents.

For a change from his usual ironic and even scathing demeanor, Verossa remained acceptably serious and decent by telling Fate, "You are in charge of this operation, Agent Testarossa. We will not do anything without your knowledge and that you have not authorized first."

Signum raised her brows because, after that intervention, Verossa turned to Shamal smiling at her. " _Since when is that guy so decent?"_ she wondered.

Finally, Fate accepted, recognizing that Verossa had made a public commitment and that it was not only his unit the one at risk but the credibility of the entire Section 6. She could not put her pride before her priorities.

Hayate gave out a couple of more orders and tasks were assigned. Much to Fate's dismay, she had to recognize they had been working again for two days non-stop and they would not be able to perform adequately if they continued with that pace. Some got the orders to go home, while Fate agreed to rest but staying with Hayate's family at the base.

Nanoha suggested Shamal take a break since she had to keep working on the profile. Now more than ever, she could not allow herself to stop. Shamal and she had been debating some details before going back to the medical wing, where Shari had also been assigned to help her when Signum approached them to take Shamal with her.

"Let's go, Shamal, you also need to rest a little," she asked, but before Shamal could reply or Signum could add anything else, a voice that was starting to become unpleasantly familiar to Signum intervened.

"Shamal, you would not be thinking about leaving without having dinner? By the way, amazing job with Vivio, my congratulations, and acknowledgments to you both," and having said that, Verossa then proceeded to gallantly embrace them. "I know the office food sucks but let me buy you something for dinner before you leave."

"Oh, that is not necessary, Agent Verossa," Nanoha replied slightly flustered.

"I cannot take a no for an answer, you have worked hard, and someone has to take care of you ladies," letting Nanoha go, he kept his arm around Shamal, smiling at her. "Come on, Shamal if you don't come, surely the doctor will not eat anything and will work for another eight hours straight."

Signum could not believe the cheeky way in which this guy was ignoring her. She was tempted to take her gun out and put it to his head to make him shut up when Hayate intervened in the least expected way for Signum.

"That is an excellent idea, and you are absolutely right Verossa, although you should take them to a fancy place and not the office cafeteria," Hayate said with an angelic smile, while Signum looked at her in amazement and Fate did the same, but with a frown. Hayate did nothing by chance and wondered what the hell her Machiavellian boss was up to (this time he preferred not to think of her as his friend).

"Oh, I'd be delighted to, but I doubt they will want to go out now, but I will surely do that at the first chance possible and you can take that to the bank," he said, winking at Nanoha and Shamal. "Someone has to recognize the ladies' worth, don't you think, Colonel?"

"I could not agree with you more, Verossa," Hayate said, stepping out and informing her seconds in command that she would go to the large apartment they had been assigned so she could check on Vita and asking them to inform her of any news.

"Get some rest, Fate, Signum… you two should also get something to eat," she told them as she was leaving.

Signum and Fate stayed standing in the middle of the room with their arms crossed almost in identical posture, both seeing how Verossa took Nanoha and Shamal in a lively conversation, without even saying goodbye to them.

What Fate regretted the most was not having the opportunity to thank Nanoha for what she had done with Vivio and for all the ideas she had given them that day. She had worked alongside everyone on the team if not more, she had done a great job and she had not given her the slightest recognition, she had not even thanked her. That, aside from making her feel like a lowly scum, left her deeply unsettled.

What Signum regretted the most was not having punched the lights out of Verossa before when she saw him with his hands on Shamal for the very first time.

— X —


	8. Bonds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated E for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.
> 
> TRANSLATOR'S NOTES: Thank you all for reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I do. It's one of my favorite chapters.
> 
> The new soundtrack for the chapter turns out to be actually two this time. "Soul Creation" by Cinder and "Chemicals React" by Aly & AJ.

* * *

**The Legacy** by Aleksei Volken

**Chapter 8. Bonds.**

_SOUL CREATION_

_I can't bite the hand that's gonna feed me.  
You like to see me try this appetite of mine.  
And I, and I…  
I lost sight of things you want to show me.  
Your fingers scratch my eyes.  
This time I'm going blind.  
And I, and I..._

_You want it.  
You need it.  
You love it.  
You hate it.  
You see it.  
You feel it.  
You touch it._

_Believe it._

_CHEMICALS REACT_

_You make me feel out of my element  
Like I'm walkin' on broken glass  
Like my world's spinnin' in slow motion  
And you're movin' too fast_

_Were you right, was I wrong  
Were you weak, was I strong?  
Yeah, both of us broken  
Caught in a moment  
We lived and we loved  
And we hurt and we jumped, yeah  
But the planets all aligned  
When you looked into my eyes  
And just like that  
The chemicals react  
The chemicals react_

_You make me feel out of my element_

_Like I'm driftin' out to the sea  
Like the tide's pullin' me in deeper  
Makin' it harder to breathe  
We cannot deny how we feel inside  
We cannot deny_

— X —

_From afar, on one of the few occasions in which you come out of that damn building, I look at you. You have been very busy lately, hunting me. [Hunting us.] You rarely go to your home, you don't see anyone, you barely sleep, and I am sure you hardly ever eat something. [I like having her focused on us.] I would have liked to see the look on your face when you saw the 'present'? I left at your friend's house… but I saw you leave your office. Ah! What a wonderful look! Your eyes seemed like fire, I would have wished to be in front of you to see them inches away and have you only for myself… [We will have her, all to ourselves… soon] But it's not the time yet. You need to know me [know us] a little more. Let me guide you some more, in this love ball we are dancing in, let me seduce you…Be patient, let me set up our meeting as you deserve… Fate._

— X —

**Residential Suburban area to Midchilda's Rigelian University  
Day 25, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 08:00 hrs.**

After four full days at TSABs headquarters, Nanoha was finally able to return to her apartment. She had never felt so tired in her life before, so even since it was very early and her friends were not home, she went straight to her room and fell to the bed, removing her clothes somehow and without putting on her pajamas she dropped like that until the next morning when a scream woke her up.

"Nanoha!"

Hazily half-asleep, Nanoha barely opened her eyes to find a very wide-eyed Suzuka looking at her.

"I did not guess you'd be back already. When did you get back? Are you all right?" the brunette asked looking at the clothes scattered on the floor and the suitcase tossed away in a corner.

"It seems like you were run over by a truck," Alisa said, peeking from behind Suzuka's shoulder. "I hope that at least the driver was handsome."

"Ah, Alisa-chan…. Knock it off with that, already, please," Nanoha barely replied covering her face with her pillow.

As she hid under the pillow, Nanoha realized that somehow her association for the word _handsome_ was that of really long golden hair and crimson eyes. " _What's happening to me? Can't I stop thinking about her for one minute?"_

Much to her regret, Nanoha had to get up, getting horrified by how late it was, considering her usual standards, of course; although not that much considering the days in which she had spent over fourteen hours a day working in Section 6.

By that moment, she was seriously considering talking with Alisa and Suzuka about what she was really doing; she could not keep hiding everything from her friends. But she did not want to make that decision without consulting Hayate or Fate first, so once again she had to dodge her friends' questions as much as she could, assuring them she was fine and that she would give them more details as soon as she was able to. The most she could do was deciding to tell them that Scaglietti was a contractor for the government and that he had chosen her for a very important project, one she could not give them details about. It was the closest thing to the truth.

Reluctantly again, Suzuka and Alisa gave in. They both, each in their own way, loved Nanoha and cared for her. They could tell how tired she was, but more than that they noticed there was something… different about her.

And that was what they were talking about after Nanoha hurried out of the apartment to the university.

"You think so?" Suzuka wondered while trying to remember Nanoha's expressions.

"For sure. There's someone in her life or, at least, she's really into someone and for who she's doing all this madness. And she is really interested." Alisa was a hundred percent sure and had already been going on for minutes telling Suzuka how they had never seen Nanoha behaving like that, and especially, keeping them out of the loop.

"But you heard her, Nanoha told us she still can't tell us about it."

"Oh, I am sure of that, but did you notice the way she was speaking? Sometimes it seemed like she remembered something, and her eyes would brighten up, but then she would become sad and try to hide it."

"What do you think it is, Alisa-chan?"

"The way I see it, there are only two options," and she sentenced after a dramatic pause. "Either it's a married guy…"

"Or…?"

Alisa considered it before answering. "Or it's a woman."

— X —

**Midchilda's Rigelian University, Applied Neuroscience Research Lab  
Day 25, Twelfth Month, 2043 – 15:30 hrs.**

Nanoha was absorbed reviewing the tasks that had been carried out during her absence and basically catching up after Dr. Scaglietti literally interrogated her for three full hours about what she had been doing for TSAB during those days.

Technically, she only had to account for two days and not for all the weekend (that had been on HER time and HER decision) so she tried to keep her explanation as simple as possible despite the questioning. She could say exactly why, but she did not want to give him any details. A part of her brain told her that if Colonel Yagami had wanted him there, she would have called him directly, so she did not feel comfortable blurting out the information she had been given, the one she had heard, and everything she had done. Especially the details about the killer.

What she tried to talk about the most, because in fact, that was the only thing in which Scaglietti had anything to do, was about Vivio.

The girl had responded fairly well to the treatment of neuronal stimulation and had successfully woken up. But they had found a little afterward that the shock still had effects. Vivio would not speak a word. There were no physical impossibilities for that so maybe it was part of the psychological trauma that was still affecting her. It would probably affect her for a long while still.

Nanoha thought that maybe Scaglietti could help with that and it was what she had talked to him about the most.

Finally, Scaglietti had been called to the rector's office, so he had to let her go… for a moment.

She had barely been catching up for a couple of hours when one of the assistants told her someone was looking for her outside the lab. Scaglietti was particularly strict in not letting anyone to the lab; he had agreed for the agents from TSAB to come in, pretty much being forced to, but now that he was out, no one outside his personnel was allowed in, so she fixed her lab coat and walked to the door.

Once outside she was startled to find a couple of green eyes and long blond hair. Unfortunately, not the blond mane she wanted to see.

"Yuuno… kun"

"Hey, Nanoha. How are you?" the young man asked her, smiling in that way that had many girls (and guys) captivated all around campus.

"Very well, thank you," she replied slightly flustered. " _What's he doing here now?"_ Nanoha thought.

"I had to come and see you," he said almost as if he were reading her mind. "Do you have time for a break?"

"Uh… I… I'm not sure Yuuno-kun, Dr. Scaglietti went to a meeting with the rector and he is strict about what we do when he is out."

"Let's get out of here, at least to the entrance of the building," the green eyes were practically begging while making the request so Nanoha did not have the heart to refuse.

Yuuno walked with her by the hallways of the building all the way to the entrance door where the green of the gardens could be seen and several groups of students that had already finished their classes or were on a break. Sometimes Nanoha missed those student-life days and she could still see herself along with her friends, laughing under those trees without anything troubling their minds. Certainly without having seen what she had seen in the last few days. Under that golden sun and with the sound of laughter in the background it was difficult to believe such darkness could exist.

"Nanoha?" Yuuno's voice brought her out of her thoughts, it seemed she had missed a part of the conversation.

"I…am…" Nanoha was about to apologize when she suddenly remembered Fate, again, and stopped herself. "I am a little bit distracted, Yuuno-kun. You were saying?"

"I was just telling you, you looked very deep in your own thoughts. Are you sure everything is all right?"

"Not him too," Nanoha thought, who already had enough with Alisa and Suzuka asking her difficult questions she could not answer to now have Yuuno asking her the same questions.

"Positive, Yuuno-kun, I am just swamped in work lately. How are you doing in the Infinity Library?" she asked, trying to divert the conversation towards harmless and safer topics and preferably, unrelated to her.

"That's fantastic. You should come to my office one of these days. Added to the pleasure of seeing you, I could take you on a tour of our facilities and show you the cutting edge technology we have now. We can search for any book available on any topic you can imagine. Although not all students can do that," he said, very pleased with himself, "there are some searching privileges available only to the director!"

"How so?" Nanoha asked, suddenly interested in what Yuuno had just said.

"Yeah, we have finally compiled together all the content of the Infinity Library in a centralized database, hundreds of thousands of volumes integrated and linked through an intelligent relational database. As you can imagine, there is a lot of information there and the complexity relies on establishing the relations and organizing the information to find what you are looking for."

"Right," Nanoha said, "it's like a gigantic haystack."

"That's right!" he said, excited to see the interest in her friend, "Ever since I started working on the Infinity Library, my main purpose was to find a way to look into that haystack in an efficient and intelligent way. The information we have there is the largest on the planet and it is also interlinked with many other knowledge databases. Now it seems I have succeeded."

"Amazing, Yuuno-kun!"

"Would you like to check it out?" he asked with his hopes high, but he could not get to listen to Nanoha's answer because at that moment another person approached them and greeted them.

"Hello, good afternoon."

Nanoha knew that voice. And she could not believe that person was exactly here at that moment. She quickly turned around to find the long golden mane (that this time was THE one she wanted to see) and crimson eyes. Much to her surprise, Fate was not in her Enforcer uniform but rather dressed as a civilian. Nanoha was thunderstruck, realizing she had never seen Fate wearing anything but the black uniform from head to toes. Now she was wearing sand-colored pants and a long-sleeved light blue shirt. She looked way younger and relaxed like that, almost like another student around.

"Fate!" she almost yelled.

"Hi," Fate replied with a more reserved attitude, and with a faint smile, she turned to Yuuno. "Fate Harlaown," she said extending her hand.

Yuuno looked at her with curiosity. One could almost say he was not upset with Fate interrupting his conversation with Nanoha.

"Yuuno Scrya," he said, extending his hand to shake the blonde's while looking at her even more appreciatively.

"It's so good to see you, Fate," Nanoha was happy to see the enforcer, but now that her initial shock had passed, she wondered what brought her to the university.

"Yes, I… was in the neighborhood and since I had some things to discuss with Dr. Scaglietti I thought to stop by," she said after a slight pause.

 _"Oh, she came to see Scaglietti,"_ Nanoha thought, a little dismayed. For a moment, she wished in her heart that she had come to see her.

"He's not in the building right now, but he shouldn't be long. Do you want to come into the lab for a moment? I will let him know you are here," and although she had not come to see her, she was happy to see her and did not want her leaving too quickly.

"That would be great," the blonde answered smiling.

"I'll leave you two to it then," Yuuno, who suddenly had felt a little left out, said. Nanoha had not invited him to come into the lab.

"Nice to meet you, Scrya-san," Fate said goodbye.

"Just Yuuno is fine. And it was also nice to meet you. Can I call you Fate, then?" he said, smiling back at the blonde.

"Sure," she said, shaking his hand again.

Nanoha was almost jealous. Fate had never been that polite the first times they met.

While Yuuno left, after making Nanoha promise she would visit him at the Infinity Library, Fate and Nanoha stayed outside the building a little longer; Fate was idly looking around and when Nanoha turned around to go back inside, Fate suddenly stopped her.

"Wait, Nanoha."

The aforementioned turned around intrigued.

"I did not come here to see Scaglietti," Fate said, suddenly looking flustered and with her gaze staring at the floor.

Nanoha just stared at her without knowing what to answer and her heart started beating harder.

Fate gathered courage and raising her head she looked directly into the redhead's eyes. "I… came to see you."

If she had been left speechless, now she could barely swallow. Nanoha had to make an effort to remember how to breathe.

"Is there somewhere around where we can sit for a moment and talk?" Fate asked.

At that moment, Nanoha couldn't care less about Scaglietti not being at the lab or leaving her tasks unattended and she quickly led Fate to one of the inside gardens of the building, the one she liked the best. It was private and they would be able to sit down in the middle of the vegetation and talk without being bothered. Only the researchers were allowed in that area, so there were no nosy students and at that time, they were usually deserted.

Sitting there, Fate felt the same thing Nanoha had felt before; in that peaceful and bright place, it was difficult to believe that the darkness she saw day after day, could exist. She took a few seconds to enjoy the moment before mustering her courage again to look Nanoha in the eyes. She wanted her to be one hundred percent sure of the sincerity of what she was going to tell her.

"I wanted to talk to you to thank you for everything you have done in the last few days. You really did an outstanding job with Vivio and the ideas you brought… well, what can I say. I never thought that someone outside of TSAB could have such cunning capacity in a case like this one."

Nanoha felt a nice warmth spreading from her chest all the way to her face. She could have never thought that blushing could turn out to be that nice.

"Also," Fate continued, "I… am very sorry for not thanking you before and more than that, not having properly recognized all the work you have done."

Nanoha's astonishment was evident. In the days she had been spending around Fate, she had noticed that the agent did not apologize. She could perfectly remember how she had practically berated her for apologizing so much. Listening to her saying that she was sorry, gave her a clear idea of how serious it was for Fate what she was telling her.

Nanoha looked at her without knowing what to say, still too surprised, until Fate asked, "Would you be able to forgive me, Nanoha?"

"Of course," she was quick to answer. "Don't worry, I… understand Fate. Now more than ever I understand what your job means and I… admire you very much."

After saying that, her blush turned even more intense.

"And I am grateful you came here to tell me this, you have no idea how much it means," _'to me'_ she omitted to say.

"I am also here for another reason," Fate said smiling. "Colonel Yagami… Hayate is inviting us for dinner with her family."

Nanoha opened her eyes with surprise. "Me too?"

"Of course, that's what I am telling you."

Nanoha was still gaping. The Colonel in charge of Section 6, one of the most important units in TSAB was inviting her for dinner with her? It was too much to handle.

"She also wants to thank you in her way for all your help," Fate explained, still smiling. "The truth is Hayate and I go a long way back, we were friends before working together and I have to tell you, she likes you."

"Wow, I am a little surprised, but yes, I am delighted to accept the invitation. Thank you for coming in person to tell me all this."

Nanoha would have preferred it had been Fate the one asking her out to dinner, but in any case, she would be able to see her out of the work and without (hopefully) any discussion in between, so she was happy.

Fate gave her the directions for the place where the dinner would take place, the luxurious TSAB's Officer's Club, and even offered to pick her up at her apartment. Nanoha stared at her startled and was very close to asking her if she was really Fate or an alien entity usurping the agent's body, but she decided not to tempt her luck and enjoy the _alien Fate_ for how long it would last.

And Fate, who really had not even the slightest interest in seeing Scaglietti, skipped going to the lab with Nanoha and opted to leave to settle other pending matters while Nanoha stayed full of joy for the rest of the afternoon. The only thing she could think about was what she would wear that night for dinner.

Curiously, as Fate left the Neuroscience building with a slight smile on her lips, she was thinking exactly the same thing. Although she didn't see him, her face was as resplendent as her hair under the soft light of the afternoon sun.

_[That idiot was with her!] What are you doing here, Fate? And what happened to your shiny armor? Wearing those clothes is beneath you. [She spoke to him, she touched him… even smiled at him!] Smiling like that is not worthy of you. The way you smile like that… Tsk, tsk, tsk… No Fate. It's not good that you get distracted from your objectives. [She is not thinking about us now] No, she definitely is not thinking about us now. [… that cannot be out of our control] That is not the look in your eyes when you think about us Fate, and that is very dangerous, it's not good for you to get distracted from your goals. When you get distracted… people die._

— X —

**Residential Suburban area to Midchilda's Rigelian University  
Day 25, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 18:50 hrs.**

It was almost the time Fate said she would come to pick her up and although Nanoha was more than ready, she was very nervous.

Her friends were surprised to see her back home very early that afternoon, and even more so when they saw her looking for something to wear. According to Nanoha, for some reason she failed to mention, she needed something that would look elegant but not too formal, sensual but discreet, subtly provocative yet innocent, to the latest trends but not extremely fancy, feminine but not flashy… among many other things she told them without even looking at them while she took everything out from her closet that looked half elegant and presentable.

Alisa and Suzuka exchanged a glance of mutual understanding; without intending to, her friend's behavior was starting to prove Alisa's suspicions.

Finally, Suzuka showed her red-haired friend the dress her mother had prepared for her for their year-end party they would hold at her house and offered it to her.

"But Suzuka-chan… I can't accept it, this dress is for you, for your gathering with your family, I can't wear it before you!"

"Nonsense, Nanoha, actually I am even grateful that it can be used more than once. I can't imagine when I will get the chance to use a dress like this one again," Suzuka said, trying to convince her.

She and Nanoha were almost the same height, and with the appropriate shoes, the length of the dress would not be an issue, so finally, after a lot of arguments, Nanoha accepted.

So, at that moment, she was decked out in a long, straight, sleeveless sapphire blue dress, with no other embellishment than the drape of the fabric over her body, accentuating each curve in the right place. The blue of the dress enhanced the color of her eyes making them glow with more intensity.

Suzuka had also helped her do her hair in something different from her usual ponytail, so this time she was wearing it loose for the most part but held on the sides with neatly braided strands that were discreetly tied behind her head. That way she could show off her long hair but keeping her neck clear, as it was enhanced by the cleavage of the dress and where it rested, as the single accessory, a pendant with a solitary red jewel, a gift from her mother.

Suzuka and Alisa looked at her impressed.

"Whoever is your date today, is gonna die from a heart attack," Alisa told her when she was ready.

"Alisa-chan…! Stop it, please!" Nanoha demanded, although deep down, she did wish that other people would appreciate how she looked.

Before her friends could even offer to walk with her to the lobby, Nanoha sneaked out to wait for Fate directly at the door and, if it was possible, so she did not have to get out of the car. The last thing she wanted was prying questions from her friends.

As she waited, she could not help but ask herself, in all seriousness for the first time, what was it with her when it came to Agent Testarossa… to Fate. She had never felt the way she was feeling in that moment when she went out on a date with guys, although strictly speaking _that_ was not a real date as if they were going out together, of course… it was almost like part of the job… But Nanoha's heart was beating like she was going on a real date with someone she cared about… a lot. Never before had she ever wanted to know about someone, to be close to someone, to be important for someone as she wished to with Fate. She didn't want to put any labels on what she was feeling, but she was not naïve, something was happening to her and it was not a mere fleeting interest. And that scared her but did not deter her. There was not a single moment when the thought of getting away or distancing herself from Fate ever crossed her mind. On the contrary, she wanted to be closer and even closer to her, whatever that could mean.

" _And she… How will she feel?"_ she thought. " _Is it possible I am the only one feeling… 'this'?"_ whatever _this_ was.

But she could not continue her musings because, at that moment, Fate's black sports car stopped at the entrance of her building. Nanoha hurried out, but since she had to be more careful walking due to the dress and the high heels, it took longer for her to go and close the door, so by the time she turned around, Fate was already out of her car standing almost in front of her.

The one that almost had a heart attack was Nanoha.

Fate had also chosen a long dress, one made of black satin, strapless, with a simple and straight cut, which accentuated the delicacy of her body in a way Nanoha had never seen before.

"Hi," Fate greeted her shyly, and at that moment, as she heard the agent's voice, Nanoha realized she had stood in her place stupefied and gaping.

In fact, both women were looking at each other in a very appreciative way. Fate noticed Nanoha looked very different from her usual look… " _Like a goddess,"_ was what was really running in her mind at that moment. Nanoha's hair, usually pulled in a tail, was now flowing freely the way Suzuka had done it, framing not only her face but her body all the way to her delicate waist, contrasting with the blue of her dress. _"Just like a fire goddess,"_ was what Fate thought after a few seconds absorbing the image in front of her.

"That dress suits you… very nice," Fate said to finish her greeting, and then Nanoha noticed Fate was looking at her appreciatively and blushed much more than she would usually blush at a compliment.

" _Damn it, with that blush she looks even more… attractive (sexy Fate, admit it!) …Be careful Fate, fire goddesses burn and that is another luxury you cannot afford."_

Nanoha's answer was able to rescue her from her own thoughts before they confused her even more.

"Thank you very much, Fate-san, but the truth is _you_ look spectacular," Nanoha said, still blushing and nervous, but at least, somewhat functional.

After that, they still remained looking at each other in silence, just as if they could not get tired of looking at the other and with every second, they would find a new detail they hadn't noticed before. It was until a neighbor stepped out of the building that brought them back to reality.

Nanoha worried it would be her friends, but she sighed relieved when she saw it had not been them. If her friends had seen Fate, then she would be out of arguments to tell them.

"Shall we?" Fate asked, pointing at the car.

"Yes, sure."

Like the previous time in which she got into the car, Fate opened the passenger door for her and when Nanoha got inside their gazes met again, close, very close, so close that each was able to perceive the essence of the other. For Fate, Nanoha emanated a light combination of jasmine along with another more sensual, denser, and equally stimulating to her senses that she recognized as orange blossom.

As Fate walked around the car to get in it, inside, Nanoha was breathing deeply to calm down the frantic beating of her heart after that look. " _Pull it together, Nanoha, she just looked at you! What would happen if…?"_

Nanoha tried to shut those thoughts down, she didn't want to think about any _'ifs'_ at that moment. Of any kind. They were not on a date. They were going to almost a meeting for work with Fate's boss. She had to calm down.

Fate took a deep breath, twice, before getting into the car; her senses still overwhelmed after perceiving the other girl's scent _. "Control, Fate. Granted, she looks beautiful, but she is NOT on a date with you or anything like that. You don't even know if she…"_

Fate forced herself to think about anything else as she got in and started the car, letting Nanoha know that they were going to the TSABs Officers Club because the home of the Yagamis was still closed after the last incident.

From the seventh floor of Nanoha's building, the windows to her apartment looked dark. In any case, from the car, it would have been impossible to see the two shadows getting away from the window at that moment.

"See? I told you," Alisa mumbled.

"Wasn't that the agent from TSAB that helped us the other day?"

"I could swear it's the same one. I doubt there are many women with hair like that," Alisa, away now from the window from where they had been watching Nanoha, turned on a lamp. Before Nanoha left, each pretended to go to their rooms while her friend hurriedly said goodbye, but then they took their watching post. They had to know.

From the seventh floor, they were a little too far to clearly make the face of the person that had come for Nanoha, but it was clear it had been a woman, stunning and blonde.

"But why is Nanoha keeping it from us?" Suzuka was, more than upset, worried about her friend.

"Beats me, but we will find out," Alisa said with determination.

— X —

**Officer's Club at TSAB's Wolkenritter Military Camp, Residential Suburb of Midchilda  
Day 25, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 19:30 hrs.**

Nanoha was shocked by the TSABs Officers Club. It was not inside the TSAB building she knew but in a special camp where, aside from the club, there were other facilities for training and sports and recreational family activities. TSAB took very seriously taking care of their members and especially, their families.

When they arrived at one of the principal restaurants of the complex, they were led to a private section where Hayate was already there, wearing a very simple white dress that made her look much younger and frail than how she always looked with her military uniform at the office. Already with her were Zafira, wearing an impeccable black tuxedo, and Signum wearing a dashing navy blue tailored suit.

"Oh, it's good you are here guys," Hayate greeted them with a wide smile. "You both look amazing today, did you know that?"

Nanoha and Fate blushed with singular sync as they entered the private section and greeted her.

The table that had been set for them in the area, intimate but large, was round due to Hayate's express request, so everyone would be able to talk. Fate noticed there were still some empty chairs and wondered who else was invited.

Before they could choose where to sit down, Hayate stood up and had Nanoha sit next to her, so that she would be between her and Fate.

The chat turned for the next few minutes on very general topics, mainly how the researcher's day had been back to her 'normal' life.

"I have to say it has been a little odd," Nanoha said sheepishly.

"Really? How so? You are not going to say you miss these two tyrants," Hayate laughed; she and Fate had kept Nanoha working over fourteen hours a day while she was at the office. Fate growled a little at being called a tyrant, which earned her a friendly reprimand from Hayate.

"Fate, growling is not sexy and is incompatible with your outfit."

Signum took advantage of the opportunity to make fun of Fate as well. "That's true, Testarossa, your makeup can crack."

Fate shot a warning look at Signum; yes, definitely, they would need that sparring session soon.

"The truth is that working with all of you has been quite an experience," Nanoha tried to return to the original topic and deviate it from the one that was clearly annoying Fate. "It was very hard, yes, but it was also…"

"Exciting?" Hayate completed with one of her enigmatic smiles.

"Yes, but more than that, it was gratifying. It made me feel that what I am doing has a purpose and a goal. Returning to the lab after the days I spent with you in TSAB has been… gray," a color was the best adjective Nanoha could think of to describe how she had felt that day.

"Well, you will get the chance to return to our _colorful_ office very soon, Nanoha," Hayate said. "But we'll discuss that later."

At that moment, the door opened for the last guests to arrive. Shamal, who was looking dashing with a light green dress entered by the arm of a very elegant Verossa Acous in a white suit.

Signum clenched her fists under the table at the sight of him, she was sure that Shamal would arrive with Vita; it was supposed to be a dinner between family and friends. The _last_ person she wanted to see at that moment was precisely Verossa Acous. She had already had enough seeing him hovering over Shamal the last four days at the office, bringing her coffee or tea in the mornings, or amicably chatting with her during breaks or when they met in the hallway or even going for lunch with her. Signum had noticed everything to the last detail and the guy had a knack for doing it when she was around. Or maybe it was that she had been around Shamal more than usual? Although, for her, that was not important. What mattered was what the hell he was doing there.

Verossa placed Shamal between him and Zafira while _politely_ greeted Signum.

"Hello, Lieutenant, the dark color suits you just fine," he said, and without waiting for an answer he sat down very pleased with himself, "very similar to your everyday uniform."

"Our uniform is black, Verossa, in case you don't remember," Signum could not understand how Shamal could stand the guy for over two seconds. He had just arrived, and she already wanted to kill him.

"You should try another color… a lively one, you know. Look at Shamal for example, doesn't she look ravishing?"

"Oh, Verossa, please. He has been like that since I went out," Shamal said a little flushed looking at Signum.

"Yes, like always," Signum replied, faster and harsher than she expected, realizing her bad paraphrasing too late. The truth was that Shamal looked superbly well. "No, what I mean is that Shamal… always looks nice and today, now, I mean," Signum paused her rambling to try and look directly at Shamal without having Verossa on the way.

"… and now you also look very nice Shamal. I had not seen that dress," she was finally able to say. "Damn you Verossa, it's your fault for making me angry so fast!"

Shamal was a bit disappointed as she heard Signum's first phrase, but she had to recognize she had made an effort. She had probably struggled too much to recognize she looked nice that night.

"Well, it's understandable, Shamal, your sister maybe cannot see you with the same admiration that I can," Verossa said smiling at Shamal. "She at least noticed it's a new dress."

Signum's hand moved dangerously close towards the knife on the table but Hayate miraculously intervened.

"I am glad we are all here. I wanted to let you know that this dinner is to thank, and up to some point, to pamper, yes, our two experts on the scientific area of Section 6: Nanoha and Shamal you two have done a truly remarkable work girls."

For the last few days, the days that Nanoha and the others as well, had been practically locked down at TSABs offices, all the team had been endlessly working on several tasks but one of the most important ones had been trying to have Vivio recognize the possible murdered of the Alpine family as well as to establish the final profile of the enemy they were dealing with. Nanoha had been a key element for both activities along with Shamal.

Although Vivio, after four days since waking up, still had not said a single word, Nanoha had succeeded in letting Fate, Hayate, and other team members get close to her and be able to speak with her. Step by step, among the four of them, they explained to her what had happened and were able to confirm that the girl had seen, if not in its entirety, at least some of what had happened to the Alpine family. In between silent tears, Vivio nodded or shook her head as she was being asked questions. It was a long process and they had to pause every once in a while, for Vivio to recover; neither Nanoha nor Shamal wanted Vivio to revert to how she had been found. Both women took turns to watch over Vivio as she rested or interacted with her in the different rehabilitation activities, as well as during the sessions with the other members of the team. It was exhausting for them and the girl.

During the rehab sessions, thanks to the little girl's drawings, Nanoha was able to tell that Vivio had seen the killer of her family, a thing that the girl confirmed to Hayate and Fate in another question session.

However, their largest disappointment came when she did not identify the killer in any of the pictures that were shown to her, not even when they specifically showed the one of Zest Grangaitz. If that was correct, that meant Dr. Grangaitz had not been the perpetrator of those murders.

The result had Fate very dismayed but that did not mean they would lower the priority level to find Grangaitz. Fate was sure that the man knew something. It was very unlikely that he happened to just casually be around where the Yazawa's had been murdered. Also, it was clear that the man was hiding, and doing a good job about it since despite all their efforts they had been unable to find him.

Additionally to all that work, Nanoha had delivered the previous day a preliminary profile, yet thorough enough, about the killer they were looking for, one which Alto, Lucino, and Shari were using researching all the possible databases trying to find positive matches. It was a matter of time, but they were already on track.

So, taking advantage of that small window of freedom they could enjoy, Hayate had invited them to have dinner.

During the night, the Colonel dedicated most of her attention to Nanoha and Shamal, her special guests. When she was not talking with the Colonel, Nanoha found herself deeply enjoying a relaxed conversation with Fate like a normal human being. They talked and laughed, and she found out that Fate and Hayate knew each other since they were both six when they both started elementary school together and they had become inseparable friends ever since. Hayate had decided to pursue a career in the officer's school while Fate had opted for the field investigator as an enforcer, with excellent results. They had been working together in the same unit for four years now.

Hayate embarrassed Fate in front of Nanoha on more than a couple of occasions, recounting anecdotes from their childhood and teenage years, and Nanoha couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. It was obvious that Hayate knew Fate very well, literally all her life. And that she also knew many, if not all, of her secrets. Not that she would have wanted to be in Hayate's place, but she would have wanted to know everything she knew.

During the conversation, while Fate returned some of Hayate's jests and laughed outright, as she had never done with her, Nanoha wondered if there had ever been 'something' more than just friendship between the two women. Or if their relationship could evolve into something more in the future. Although they were young, the two were successful and attractive women, they spent a lot of time together, they knew each other, and they respected each other.

" _It would be the perfect relationship,"_ Nanoha thought, feeling a pit in her stomach. " _Well, but why are you thinking about that just now?"_ she scolded herself. From the talk, she could deduce that neither Fate nor Hayate had a significant other at the time and Hayate had made some ambiguous comments looking at Fate maliciously, but there was no way Nanoha could deduce with all certainty if Fate was interested in men or women… or both.

" _And are you a hundred percent sure of what you are interested in?"_ That was another question that had been circling her head for the past few days, especially when she came across a certain very tall agent, blonde and with peculiar red eyes.

During their time working together, especially after her last run-in with Fate, Shamal had been talking to her, telling her a bit about the agent and how she could be very difficult at times but how she was also an excellent person and friend. "Some people are hard-headed by nature," she told her, "but we don't love them any less because of that."

Shamal had been extremely kind and gentle with her during work and her conversations; Nanoha noticed that she was also interested in someone, but not exactly who Nanoha was thinking. Even though it was true that Agent Verossa came by often to see them and had picked up the habit of bringing them tea and coffee in the mornings, Shamal had ended up confessing that it was not him who kept her awake at night. One afternoon, to Nanoha's surprise, Shamal suddenly blurted out that who had her captivated was a girl and then, with a lot of sadness, that she had no chance with her. Then it was Nanoha's turn to comfort Shamal, but the doctor did not say anything else, so she didn't insist.

Seeing Shamal now again with Agent Verossa, she thought that maybe the doctor was trying to move on, recover, and even though they looked nice together, it did not seem that Shamal was really into it. Despite the dinner being in her honor, she looked, at times, distant.

Nanoha, for her part, was not sure of anything. She was not sure of what she was feeling or even if what she was feeling was what she thought. Was she really feeling attracted by a woman?

"How much for your thoughts?" a question came to her from a voice she knew very well.

Smiling, she answered quickly. "How much would you be willing to pay?" and raised her gaze from her plate to find Fate's crimson gaze, who was looking at her with a gentle smile on her lips. Her gaze was intense and penetrating, but warm. Every time she looked at her like that, Nanoha felt like being touched deep inside her being and it was difficult to breathe.

She only needed to lose herself in that look to answer the question she had posed to herself before. Not only was she feeling VERY attracted to a woman, but that woman was Fate Testarossa.

— X —

**Suburban area of Midchilda City.  
Day 25, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 23:30 hrs.**

The man was wandering by the dark and narrow streets of the seedy area he was in. NO matter how beautiful a city can be, or how modern or advanced, those places always existed. Every city had one at least, even Midchilda in its illusion of peace and prosperity. The place where all the waste, the unspeakable desires, the pariahs, and the homeless. It was not AS ugly as many others he had seen, but it was what it was. And it was the only place he had been able to hide so far, in a reeking basement which was reached after a labyrinth of narrow and dangerous streets.

He was sure. He was being followed. And not by TSAB.

TSAB did things differently; they had been very close on a couple of occasions, but not enough, and although both women following his track were good, and he could not get too cocky.

But this was different.

TSAB tracked him upfront with everything at hand, both human resources and technological ones, but for their bad luck, he knew them well. He had developed many of the techniques and devices they were using. Losing their tail was difficult but he could get it done.

Whatever was following him was creeping, insidious, and even worse, lethal. He was in his element in that dump he had been hiding in. He thought of himself as good but what was following him was even better.

It would only be a matter of time before he would not be able to lose them, and they would reach him.

Hiding in his hole in the wall and sealing up all the entrances, he activated the surveillance system in the perimeter he had defined around his hiding place. Even if a cockroach got closer than a hundred yards, he would know.

Sitting on the floor, in the middle of the darkness, barely mitigated by the little lights of the electronic devices he had there, he finally gave himself the luxury of turning on, very dimly, a lamp. From the pocket of his jacket, he took out a picture so worn down after so long and of hiding. On days like that, he took a moment to look at it and remember, to not forget what he was doing. To keep his rage intact.

He was running out of time.

— X —

**Housing Area, TSAB Headquarters  
Day 26, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 03:00 hrs.**

Signum was sitting down in the darkness of the living room of the rooms they had assigned at TSABs headquarters. It was a little over three hours since they had returned from the dinner and after losing time in the living room, the kitchen, the deck, and her own room on several occasions, pretending to do nothing, she had finally ended up sitting in the living room. She was actually doing something. Waiting. Shamal was not back yet.

After dinner, when Fate and Nanoha said goodbye and they were on their way to Hayate's official SUV, Shamal told them that she would get back later to their rooms at TSAB. And just like that, without any other explanation, she left, hanging to Verossa's arm.

The next hours were hell for Signum who felt like she could not stay in one place and something was burning inside her. And she was still feeling like that.

"Trouble sleeping?" Hayate's voice reached her from the half-darkness.

Signum jumped a bit. Not as much for the interruption but because of the question. Hayate did not ask unnecessary questions and she was too perceptive for her own good. Maybe that was why she had made it to Colonel that young.

"Hmmm,"

She decided not to risk it saying anything else.

Hayate got closer and sat next to her on the couch.

"It's hard not being home, right? I keep waking up in that room and suddenly forget where I am."

"Yes, it's weird. When will we be back home?" Signum relaxed a little, that topic was safe and something she actually wanted to talk about.

"They have already finished with everything necessary and the cleaning process. In a couple of days, it will only be a matter of us deciding. But honestly, I think we should stay here a bit longer. At least until we know more about the investigation."

Signum did not like the idea but understood Hayate's point. The killer had gotten inside their home and had left a very clear message. A threat. At least there on the headquarters, they would be covered, although she did not believe the killer would dare get inside there, there was always the possibility of the guy going crazier than he already was.

Hayat remained sitting next to her. Signum was more relaxed now and the least she was expecting was Hayate's dead-on question.

"Are you going to let Verossa win her so easily?"

Signum was grateful they were sitting in the darkness because she could swear that she had paled like never before in her life at that question. Hayate had ambushed her and she walked right into it.

"I… don't know… what you're talking about," she finally was able to say after some long seconds.

"That's the problem, Signum. You'd choose not to know." The kind tone had disappeared from Hayate's voice.

"I've seen it, you know? That time you were almost killed, I saw her. I do not pretend to minimize what you suffered, physically, with that injury, but you don't have the _slightest_ idea of what she suffered. I thought there would not be something worse than seeing her like that, but there was… and that was seeing her when you left again once you had miraculously recovered."

Signum was paralyzed looking at Hayate as she spoke.

"Always, from the very first moment she arrived at our home so many years ago, you have been important to her in a different way Signum. The only one who has not wanted to see or acknowledge it is you."

"Hayate, what you are saying is…"

"It's the truth, Signum. You have been everything to her, her protector, her heroine, her accomplice, her friend, her dream… and many more things, but actually, _never_ , have you been _just_ her sister."

Signum did not know what to say, her heart was about to beat out of her chest with Hayate's words. She never thought that her little sister could see through them in that way and much less to say it out loud. Signum felt like transgressing the very foundations of her family for even having the _impure_ thoughts she sometimes had. What was Hayate's intention telling her that, putting words into that which she wanted to bury deep within her being?

Apparently, Hayate had reached the limit of her tolerance that night after the evening they had shared. Even if Nanoha and Fate had barely noticed, Signum made it very difficult for two people in particular at that table.

"If you don't want or can't see her in a different way, if you are unable to overcome your own fear, then let her be happy with whomever she decides and in the way she decides. If you cannot see her as a woman and not as your _sister_ , Signum, then you better stop hurting her… You better get up from that couch right now and get to your room before Shamal gets back."

"I…" Signum wanted to say, and Hayate for a change, did not interrupt her, she just waited and stared. "It has never been my intention to hurt her."

"That does not keep you from having done so, already."

Signum felt defeated. Hayate's words heavily weighed in her heart. Almost, but not as much as the feeling of drowning, of desperation, of losing, that she felt by imagining Shamal in Verossa's arms at that moment.

Without saying anything else she stood up, left the living room, and walked to her bedroom.

— X —

**Residential Suburban area to Midchilda's Rigelian University  
Day 25, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 23:50 hrs.**

Fate had taken her back to her home after dinner around midnight and Nanoha found herself wishing that the evening would not end there.

Along the way, the good mood that had flourished at dinner remained. Fate smiled most of the time and they talked about how Nanoha's time in college had been for her and about her friends.

And for the first time, Nanoha cursed having a shared apartment, since she could not tell Fate to come upstairs for _'a cup of coffee'_ (which they had already had after dinner by the way), and no matter how exhilarated she felt, it was way beyond her possibilities to ask Fate to invite her to her house, although she already knew (thanks to Hayate) that the agent lived alone.

" _What are you expecting to achieve Nanoha Takamachi? You already knew this was never a date from the very beginning."_

For her rational mind to know was entirely different from her stomach (and other parts of her body) to also know.

The streets were practically empty, and it would not take long for them to get to her building. And much to her regret, she would have to say goodbye to that night.

"It's been a delightful evening, Fate. Thank you very much… for everything," she said, at last, trying to shake off the knot she felt on her chest.

"I'm glad you had a good time. We wanted to thank you for all you have done," Fate said looking more openly at her and added, smiling, "And it has been… different talking with you without arguing."

"Yes, I figured you'd be more pleasant in your human personality, Fate-san," Nanoha also smiled looking at the blonde.

Fate parked the car in front of Nanoha's entrance and stopped it.

During several, seemingly never-ending seconds, neither of them said anything in the middle of the darkness and the silence; neither of them moved as if that instant were so fragile and so precious that with any movement, with any sound, it would vanish. They just looked at each other crimson lost in blue, absorbing each other.

Nanoha found herself looking at Fate's lips, wishing she would kiss her right at that moment.

Fate followed Nanoha's longing gaze and saw her lips parting, she just had to lean in, and those lips would be hers, she could feel that with all her being. She didn't need to ask anything to the redhead next to her. Her eyes and her parted lips were telling her everything she needed to know. Fate's gaze lowered from Nanoha's eyes down her neck to her cleavage and she imagined sliding that dress down to see the skin underneath. As her eyes met with that blue gaze again, she imagined Nanoha looking at her like that, breathing deeply as she was doing, from _her_ bed while she stripped her of that dress.

The rush of desire she felt made Fate grip the steering wheel of her car firmly to stop her from doing what her body was screaming her to do.

Summoning all her strength and all of her self-control, the agent looked away and unlocking the car, she moved to get out without saying a word.

Nanoha remained frozen, blinking for a few seconds to recover from her surprise. During the seconds that they had been in silence inside the car, she could swear that they had both looked at each other the same way, she could swear that Fate had wanted to kiss her as much as she had wanted her to do it. Why had she gotten out of the car like that?

The cold air of the night told her that Fate had opened the door and was waiting for her to step out.

With her heart still throbbing in her neck, she got out of the car. Fate walked with her to the entrance and Nanoha could not help but feel… disappointed.

"Nothing is going to happen in such a short distance… Fate-san."

Fate did not try to delude herself, Nanoha's voice sounded resented… hurt. But there was nothing she could do except what she had done. To take what Nanoha had offered her minutes ago was out of all possibility. It was a fleeting moment and nothing else. The doctor would then regret it later and their professional relationship would be damaged irreparably forever. Even if Nanoha did not get to regret it, there was nothing she could offer her. She could not offer anything, not to her or anyone. She could not get carried away by that moment of lust, especially with her, it was something she simply could not do.

"One never knows Nanoha, remember…"

"… _the night we met,"_ she was about to say but stopped right on time.

"Yes, always call the police. I remember. Well, I don't have the police right now, but I believe I'll have to do with you," Nanoha said with a sad look and with the door to her building open.

Fate said goodbye with a gesture but Nanoha stopped her, grabbing her tightly by the arm.

"Thank you, for taking care of me, Fate-san… but who will take care of you?" and there was Nanoha again, looking at her in that way that melted all her defenses.

"Don't worry," she said in a strangled voice, "I'll make do with these shoes!"

Her poor attempt at a joke did not have the expected effect on Nanoha, who was still staring at her and still would not let her go.

"I wish…" Nanoha tried to say.

"I can assure you," Fate said smiling in a way that she was hoping would look very sure and calm.

"No," Nanoha said, getting closer to her without letting her go. "I wish… you would let the people that care about you… get closer to you."

Fate felt her stomach dropping to her feet when, after having said that, Nanoha closed in and placed a very brief kiss on her cheek, only to then turn around and run inside her building.

Fate stayed looking at the door for a few seconds, feeling especially unhappy and not relieved as she thought she was supposed to feel.

With a heavy heart, she returned to her car and stayed for a while still looking at the street, before starting and heading towards her house and to her bed, alone, as her rational mind told her was the right thing.

_[No…No…No…No…It's not possible!] … [She's just for ourselves, right?] … [That… that whore can't mean anything to our Fate!] … [Right?] … [Right?!] … Fate is distracted. Fate might be… dazzled with that slut, but… Why are you looking at her like that, Fate? Why are you getting distracted? Why do you forget about what's really important? …Why?! After all we have done for you. You need to remember. We will have to… make you remember. We need to remind you what happens when you get distracted. And you will also have to remember… who is really in control. [The whores and the idiots… must pay.]_

— X —


	9. Hunting Shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated E for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.
> 
> USEFUL AUTHOR (original) NOTES: For reference, a kind reminder that TSABs general structure is included in Chapter 1 and the list of researchers that are being hunted down by the killer Fate is after, are included in Chapter 4.
> 
> The composition of the investigation teams that belong to Section 6, under Hayate Yagami's command is:
> 
> Team 1:
> 
> Enforcer Fate Testarossa Harlaown (Captain rank)  
> Signum Yagami  
> Shamal Yagami  
> Zafira Yagami  
> Vice Granscenic  
> Alto Krauetta  
> Lucino Lillie
> 
> External Consultant: Nanoha Takamachi
> 
> Team 2:
> 
> Captain Verossa Acous  
> Ellis McGaren  
> Thoma Avenir  
> Isis Egret  
> Akira Joshima  
> Feng Lianfei (aka Ren)  
> Yung-fa Tao
> 
> Team 3:
> 
> Captain Griffith Lowran  
> Misato Mikami  
> Teana Lanster  
> Subaru Nakajima  
> Laguna Gransceni  
> Usagi Youga  
> Nama Kanzaki

* * *

**The Legacy** by Aleksei Volken

**Chapter 9. Hunting Shadows.**

— X —

**TSAB's Headquarters, Section 6 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes. Hayate Yagami's Office  
Day 26, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 07:00 hrs.**

_Beginning of File: Classified Profile_

_Subject: Unknown_

_Codename: Kuroi Shinigami_

_From the analysis of the murders of the Ishida, Atenza, Káiser, Ingvalt, Alpine, and Yazawa families, it is established that the subject does not have a "modus operandi" for the subjugation of his victims; he does not favor a specific way of killing and it is not limited by an "execution ritual", or at least, said ritual has not been identified._

_For his crimes, this type of subject is classified as a sexual psychopath given the extreme violence found in the scenes; for this type of individuals, killing a human being is not the most important thing, his "reward" comes from the torture process and the actions performed on the individuals before, during and/or after their death. Torture becomes a form of substitution for the sexual act given their inability to create true emotional ties._

_This subject is completely incapable of feeling guilt for his actions or empathy for another human being; his morals are completely estranged from established cultural patterns. The most important thing for this individual is power and control._

_\- Subject's primary objective is families, for reasons yet unknown._

_\- Subject kills the entire family, including non-family members that may be with the family at the moment._

_\- Subject tortures during several hours using a variety of methods. In different cases, he has used different methods. Even if it is true his reward comes from the process of torture itself, there is a distinct signature to the killer that has been identified. The unidentified ritual also belongs to his reward._

_\- Most of these subjects strip the personality of their victims, giving them the same value of things, just like hunters display their trophies, they also keep some sort of memory of the crimes as 'trophy' or 'memento', to recall it afterward. The trophy this subject retrieves from the scenes has not been identified yet._

_\- In ALL the cases, the father or the head of the family is the last one to die. This could be part of the subject's ritual and be related to his personal history._

_\- The other members of the family die in an unspecified order, but by the analysis of the cases, the underage ones are murdered using expeditious methods. It is possible that the death of the minors is used as an additional factor to torture their parents, but the final objective is not specifically torturing the minors._

_\- The focal point of the torture is towards the adults, mainly the father and the mother._

_\- Non-relatives are killed coldly, but also ruthlessly. It could even be said that with more cruelty than the target family albeit more quickly as if they had distracted him from his final goal but he couldn't help himself._

_FAMILY – (Victim count)_

_ISHIDA – (4)  
ATENZA – (5)  
KAISER – (3)  
INGVALT – (5)  
ALPINE – (4)  
YAZAWA – (9)_

_Physical Characteristics:_

_White male, in good physical shape, educated, probably bachelor or even higher academic degrees. He performs a job that allows him freedom of movement, that is, he is not restricted to a particular schedule; he works on his own or has economic solvency that allows him not to depend on a job. It is possible that on the outside this subject is perceived by his co-workers or acquaintances as calm and affable, even gentle and charming but he will not have deep relationships with anyone since he is incapable of doing so, therefore he will not have friends, or a formal partner; he will be distanced from his family or relatives; he will be lonely and he will not talk a lot about himself and therefore no one will know him in depth. It is very likely that his line of work provides him with the cover and the knowledge to carry out his crimes. He must be obsessed with control._

_Psychological Characteristics:_

_The analysis of the scenes shows at least three behavioral patterns. He may have been the victim of significant trauma in his childhood, repeated physical, sexual, and/or psychological abuse. This is a subject who has a great need of control over his victims as well as his environment, whereas, on the other hand, it reflects a lack of control of his compulsion: he has become addicted to ultraviolence. These characteristics could indicate the beginning of a stage of crisis and a greater lack of control. Based on the analysis of the scenes, patterns of both organized and disorganized behavior are identified. It's possible he may no longer be able to control his killer impulses, or an emotional trigger is stressing his self-control. Unlike the first murders where he remains in anonymity, in the last two scenes, he establishes a pattern of communication with the investigators of the case and threatens them; the subject seems to be effectively entering a new stage where he is also obsessed with demonstrating his superiority which also indicates that internally, he is very fearful of his inferiority. Through the increase in sadistic and perverse violence, he pretends to exercise control/power over the lives of others._

_HYPOTHESIS ONE: This kind of individuals tend to physically attack those who they fervently desire and to whom they feel attracted, but to whom they are unable to relate. The acts of torture and murder are a form of appropriation and control, as well as the depersonalization of the subject of their desire. This subject must be related in some way to the victims or wants something from them specifically. The object of his desire is related to the victims._

_HYPOTHESIS TWO: The subject either knows the agent in charge of the case in some way or has become obsessed with her from the investigation. The tone of the messages left is intimate and close, unlike the sadism manifested in the victims._

_HYPOTHESIS THREE: The subject is on the verge of a crisis of violence. The disorganization shown in the Yazawa scene indicates that there are violent impulses that he can no longer control. In addition, the extreme violence against the victims in the last scene even shows levels of resentment that had not been seen in the previous scenes; these, although terrible and violent, showed a higher level of organization, control, and coldness._

_Multiple personality disorder in serial killer psychopaths is extremely rare, being more common in violent schizophrenic disorders, however, the theory (to be confirmed) in this case would assume that the subject is not only a psychopath but also has severe personality disorders, in said state, any event perceived by the subject as traumatic or that did not conform to his moral standards, could be the trigger for new attacks._

_ADDITIONAL NOTES:_

_If the murder of Precia Testarossa and her daughter, Alicia, as the first one of the series, the subject looked for should be at least between forty-five to sixty years old. The mental state that can be deduced from the scenes is not consistent with someone of that age. A subject with such a severe mental disorder would have a high probability of having lost control at a much younger age._

_If the previous crime is left out of the list, the subject in question could have between twenty-eight and thirty-five years of age, which would be more consistent with the other characteristics of the profile._

_The crime against the Testarossa family shows a level of organization that highly differs from a first murder. The murder of the Ishida family has more characteristics that place it as the first of the series._

_NT_

— X —

"Interesting," Hayate mumbled, more to herself than to anyone in the room. Her assistants knew her well enough to leave her be during her musings out loud and wait for her indications. And at that moment, the only one present in her office was her special assistant and subordinate officer, Agent Rein Force.

"Have you read the file yet, Rein?"

The tall and extremely attractive agent with the very long silver hair was leaning with her arms crossed, almost casually, on the corner of the Colonel's huge desk, on the same side as her looking at her as she read the file that Nanoha had prepared. That closeness and familiarity was a freedom she wouldn't take if someone else were in the room, but they were alone, and she knew Hayate wanted her opinion before discussing it with her team. Or with Fate, more specifically.

"I have. Three times already."

There was a silence that was only broken until Hayate blurted impatiently. "Are you going to keep me waiting? You know I want your opinion!"

Rein's smile curved her lips just barely, imperceptible to most people, but not to Hayate who frowned a little. Rein loved breaking that immovable, controlled surface that was her boss most of the time. Few people could. For most people, Fate included as the Colonel's best friend, Hayate was unpredictable. But not for Rein. She could see through the professional facade, carefully cool and calm. She could clearly see the woman Hayate was.

"Fate's not going to like it at all."

Huffing annoyed, Hayate clarified, "That's obvious. What I want to know is what do you think about what she is presenting."

"If the girl is right, we would be dealing with two subjects. And the murder of Fate's family would not be related to the incidents we are investigating."

After a pause, she continued. "The scenario she proposes in her profile is quite feasible. Although it gives us a lot of data about the person or people we are looking for, it is very difficult to apply that information to our databases. In the specific case of our killer, it means that he is even more difficult to find than we already thought."

Before they could continue talking about Nanoha's profile, a slight knock on the door distracted them. Almost speechless, Rein headed for the door to open it. Hayate didn't want to be interrupted while she did that analysis, but it was still too early for her secretary to have already arrived.

They were surprised to find Shari to be the one knocking at the door.

"We have a… situation," she said, unusually cryptic.

Hayate raised her brows waiting. It's not like they did not get a fair share of _'situations'_ but something in Shari's look told her this was not like any of their usual _'situations'_.

"Signum…"

Hayate did not need any other word to understand.

"Don't tell me she killed Verossa…" Hayate asked, getting up from her desk. Maybe she should have not been that harsh earlier.

"No… but she's very close to killing Fate."

"What?!"

"Takamachi-san almost asked me to come to look for you," Shari explained as Hayate left like a shot since she remembered that challenge that both women had talked about days before. She already knew Fate would not be easy prey but if Nanoha had worried up to that point, things had to be worse than she imagined.

— X —

**TSAB's Headquarters, Section 6 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes. Physical Training Room.  
Day 26, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 08:00 hrs.**

She was going to die, that much she could be sure of as she evaded to the best of her abilities, the two lethal combinations of strikes and kicks her opponent had thrown in quick succession. Had it not been for her extremely fast reflexes, agent Fate Testarossa would be knocked down on the floor.

For just over ten minutes she had been in an intensive training session with her second in command, Signum Yagami. Two days earlier, Signum had challenged her, and Fate hadn't been able to resist the temptation to tease her former childhood rival a bit, so now she couldn't complain about it.

The night before, she had arrived at her apartment after leaving Nanoha, with such a feeling of frustration and (even if it was hard for her to admit) of sexual tension that she had been unable to sleep. She tossed and turned in bed, took a cold shower, did push-ups, slammed her training bag… drank a glass of hot milk… Nothing worked. Her sleep time was short and restless. So that morning she had arrived at the office much earlier than usual, with the adrenaline pumping and fervently wanting to pound someone; only to find that Signum was already there as well and apparently in a very similar condition to hers. When she found her, she looked like a beast prowling around the training area looking for a 'sparring partner' (prey) and Fate couldn't think of a better idea.

What Fate was not counting on was Signum's unusual ferocity.

Usually, when they started a match like that one, they would look at each other and measure each other up, almost playing, and they would start their fight almost like a dance, slow and rhythmical that would increase in intensity. They enjoyed hunting each other. This time, Fate had barely a chance to breathe; Signum was over her ferociously, one vicious attack after the other.

So violent was the 'training' proving to be that more than ten people from Section 6 who were already in the office for their multiple tasks, clustered by the large reinforced acrylic window to watch the 'match'. The bets were immediate. Signum had a 4-to-1 advantage at the moment, but some of Fate's supporters weren't so easily put off.

Nanoha (who had also enjoyed a restless night) had also arrived early trying to avoid her roommates (the last thing she wanted was for anyone to ask her how her night had gone) and wanting to finish her pending activities at TSAB as soon as possible to go to the University. Walking towards the medical wing, the investigator was very surprised to find the two agents 'training' like that, since anyone could say that they were in the middle of a serious battle.

Both women were exceptionally fast and excellent in body-to-body combat, although Fate's speed surpassed Lieutenant Signum's. It did not take long for Nanoha to realize that her speed and agility were the only reasons Fate was still able to be on her feet. Her father had a dojo and her siblings were quite skilled in martial arts so, even if she never actually trained, she was able to tell. It didn't take her long either to realize Fate was having a bad time and that things were not improving, actually, they were getting worse by the minute.

Somewhat hesitant, she discreetly asked Shari if it wouldn't be pertinent to let Colonel Yagami know about that peculiar 'training'. Shari looked at her, and even though she did not say anything, Nanoha could see she was sharing her concerns. While Shari went to Hayate's office, Shamal arrived with Verossa, as the gathered crowd had attracted their attention. While the two women exchanged a glance of concern for a few seconds while Verossa went directly to where the bets were happening, they got even closer to the protective screen.

After dodging one of Signum's last blows, Fate feinted to one side but moved quickly and effectively to the other, with which she was able, for the first time in their combat, to surpass Signum who was with her back undefended momentarily. Fate took the opportunity to apply a painful lock to the neck of her opponent, taking advantage of her height and reach, restricting the movement of the other, practically hugging her from behind tightly. Fate thought that she already had it in her pocket and that it was only a matter of time.

Big mistake. The move had taken them very close to the walls, so Signum, ignoring the pain and the disadvantageous position, crouched and then jumped with incredible strength to literally smash Fate against the wall, knocking the air out of her. That loosened Fate's grip just enough so that Signum's elbow could precisely and painfully impact the pit of the blonde's stomach, causing her to expel what little air she had left.

The next thing Fate was aware of, was her face was painfully crushed to the floor by an iron arm, as she was engaged in a hold that would have taken her breath away if she had any left to spare.

"… Signum! SIGNUM!" Shamal screamed from the outside, banging the reinforced glass with her hand as she was able to realize that Fate was not being able to breathe.

Nanoha, who was clinging to the metal railing of the window, sighed in relief when Signum finally released Fate, giving her a chance to breathe. The blonde was gasping on the floor for air. The 'training' was over.

After a few seconds, Fate was able to get up a little, still sitting down on the floor, only to find Signum's stare, who, much to her surprise, was not looking either satisfied or amused.

"I told you, you are out of shape, Testarossa," she said harshly. "If this had been the real deal, you'd be through and through."

"Who… infuriated… you… like… this?" Fate was finally able to say.

Speaking of the devil, the male voice Signum least wanted to hear sounded a bit muffled from outside. Verossa was standing right between Shamal and Nanoha and unlike the concerned faces of both women, he had a big smile on his lips.

"Wow, that was truly epic, gals! It's not often to see our Star Enforcer biting the dust like that. The good thing is that I bet on you Lieutenant"

"You should come in and try yourself, Agent Verossa," Signum offered dangerously, "unless you're too afraid of a woman making you bite the dust."

"Oh, I'd be incapable of laying a hand on a lady, Lieutenant… including you," he said mockingly, but the taunts of his teammates, who were still very excited after Fate and Signum's fight, did not take long to start. Deep down, a few wanted Signum to kick the Director's brother's ass given that they couldn't and that was a completely legal way to accomplish it.

Finally, there was so much pressure that Verossa had no choice but to accept. Shamal shot him a concerned look while he made his way to the combat room and that resulted in Signum getting even more enraged. Shamal worrying about that guy… was too much.

After everything she had gone through, Fate decided to stay in the training room, slightly worried about Verossa's luck. She had trained with him and Griffith and knew the guy was good, but what she had felt with Signum during those minutes had been out of scale.

Fate looked at Signum as they waited for Verossa to enter the room; her subordinate hadn't moved an inch and her gaze had never lost sight of the man as he approached; Fate swore that if looks could kill, Verossa would be a puddle on the floor that very second. It definitely was too dangerous to leave Signum alone with him.

Verossa entered the room very sure of himself and took his position. He seemed to be about to open his mouth to make some snarky remark, but he didn't get the chance. A hurricane had already struck him without warning. The man managed to block the violent combinations that Signum was sending him, but he had been left in a very disadvantageous position. He was practically just defending himself as best he could, and there was no chance to think that he could even attack his opponent.

Fate moved at times to avoid getting in their way, and yet being close enough if it was required.

If it was somehow possible, Signum was fighting faster and stronger than with her.

The combat with Fate had lasted for over ten minutes. Verossa did not make it to two.

Overpowered from the beginning by the violence of Signum's attacks, Verossa ended up crashing into the wall unable to block the last combination, with Signum's knee painfully striking his testicles as she held him trapped like that, literally without his feet touching the ground and with a forearm crushing his throat.

Almost everyone, including Fate, closed their eyes and cringed at the sight of Verossa in that situation.

Signum made an effort to hold him in that painful position, barely containing the desire to hit him even more. After a couple of seconds, she slowly approached the man's ear to whisper wildly, "If you hurt Shamal in the slightest, this ..." she said, pushing him further against the wall, "will be nothing, compared to what I will do to you."

"Signum," Fate called her concerned. "That's enough… Signum!"

Signum released him and headed for the door, not so much because of Fate's request but because she was afraid of losing control and actually hurting Verossa, who still hadn't done anything to Shamal, but to her. She had been shown how vulnerable she was and how much she really cared about Shamal. Just as Hayate had said, Signum could no longer see Shamal as her sister after feeling what she had felt just seeing her leave the night before with Verossa. When she left her apartment very early in the morning, she couldn't tell if Shamal had arrived at some point or not. She hadn't seen her until a few minutes ago when she was… crushing Fate.

Fate helped Verossa stand up and get out of the room, where he had to endure, additionally to the beating he had taken, the mocks from his colleagues.

Fate was almost going after Signum when a worried voice stopped her.

"Are you all right, Fate-chan?"

Fate turned with a frown at the honorific Nanoha had selected to address her.

"Oh, I'm sorry… Fate-san… It's just that… well that doesn't matter, I was worried about you," a slightly blushed Nanoha told her. "Maybe we should go to the medical wing so Shamal can give you a quick look."

"I can't just now, Nanoha. I have to… talk to Signum."

Fate slightly stared at the young researcher. The red-haired looked genuinely concerned and again a bit disappointed by Fate's response, but she surely didn't even imagine the role she had played in that little morning drama. If Fate hadn't been so keen to pound something so early in the morning...

"It can't be helped, Nanoha," she said at last. "I appreciate your concern but trust me, I'm fine. Now, I really have to see Signum."

"Will I see you later?" By the time Nanoha finished the question she was already talking to Fate's back as she walked away.

"We have a meeting with Hayate in an hour," was Fate's answer without even turning around to see her.

And not because she didn't want to look at her, but exactly because of that. The truth was that she was dying to see the researcher.

Nanoha just looked at Fate getting away in a hurry. Fate was without a doubt an excellent person who worried about her team and her friends… but Nanoha was starting to realize that it wouldn't do her harm getting her ass kicked every once in a while, especially when she ignored her like that.

"What the hell was that, Signum?" Fate asked very seriously when she managed to catch up with her in the showers, grabbing her by the arm to stop her from whatever she was doing in her locker to look at her,

Signum remained silent, just standing without looking at Fate. She knew that it hadn't been okay to kick the butt of a superior officer, especially when he was the Deputy Director's brother and she also knew that Hayate might reprimand her, but she didn't care.

"Signum," Fate continued in a more conciliatory tone, "I don't know what's wrong with you, but you know you can tell me."

"I don't know what's wrong with me either, Testarossa," the other said at the end.

"Don't you know why you wanted to literally kill the director's brother or me?" she asked, trying to lighten the atmosphere and Signum's mood. She did not know what was wrong with her, but she considered Signum her friend, she appreciated her very much and she could see that something was affecting her... a lot.

"I did not want to kill you, just…"

"Just him then?" Fate laughed a little noticing that Signum was starting to relax, adding. "And me, you just wanted to use me to mop the floor of the training room, huh?"

Signum now laughed, completely relaxed. She also appreciated Fate very much and was sorry for having roughed the blonde like that.

"Just him," she said with an evil look as she kept smiling.

Fate was about to ask why she wanted to kill him when the door of the showers slammed open and Shamal entered asking almost the same question Fate was about to ask.

"Signum…! Can you tell me why you did that?" Shamal looked a little flustered from running to catch up with them. "And what the hell are you two of you laughing about?" she continued even more upset than she already was.

"Do you think it's very funny? Fate, you should be reprimanding Signum! And not celebrating her like those were mere shenanigans…! Hayate came by during your encounter with Verossa and saw everything!"

Fate and Signum weren't laughing anymore, and Fate knew Shamal was right, but she also knew it wasn't that simple. Whatever was going on with Signum, it wasn't simple.

Seeing as neither said anything, Shamal asked Fate with an extremely serious tone, "May I speak with Signum for a moment, Fate? Please?"

Without saying anything else, Fate took a last glance at Signum as if saying 'good luck' and left the showers.

Shamal got closer and Signum was able to see that, in fact, she was VERY angry.

"Signum… it was supposed to be training. Why did you do that?! Besides, Verossa has done nothing to you. He has just been kind and gentle with me. You cannot imagine how embarrassed I felt now that I apologized to…"

"You apologized to him?" Signum asked incredulously, feeling the anger growing again inside her.

"Of course! Signum... you literally assaulted him. Of course, I had to apologize, in addition to being _**our**_ co-worker (... and Deputy Director Carim's brother), he's my friend..."

As they talked, both women had been getting closer, moved by the intensity of their arguments or maybe by something more, something much stronger than them, which, heated by the moment, was more difficult to hold back.

"Your friend, huh? One whom you spend all night out, right?" Signum's eyes here like steel as she said those words.

Shamal got frozen at the phrase thinking " _No way, Signum thinks that Verossa and I…"_

The worst of it was that she could not tell Signum where she had been and why at least not at that moment.

"A 'friend' that you care a lot about, right?" Signum asked at Shamal's lack of response, looking at her in a way that made her shudder. There was fury but also deep pain in the blue eyes of the woman who mattered most to her in the world, and it was terrible to see that look in those eyes but she couldn't take her eyes off them. Signum had never looked at her with such intensity as if something was about to explode inside her.

Finally, with a significant effort, Shamal averted her gaze and tried to walk away, suddenly realizing how close they were to each other, but Signum didn't let her. Grabbing her by her shoulders, she pulled her even closer to her and made her look at her.

"Tell me Shamal, do you really care so much about him?" Signum feared that the answer would be _'Yes',_ but she couldn't help it, she couldn't bear to see Verossa approaching Shamal when she wanted so much…so badly, to be in his place

"I care about you, you idiot," Shamal said, hurt, making a supreme effort to keep the minimum distance between them. The blonde had ended up resting her hands on Signum's shoulders trying to push her away as she was still holding her tight. Trying being the operative word, as she, despite her best efforts, was not succeeding at all. She was so close to her that she could feel Signum's body warm under the training clothes after the effort she had put in, she could feel her strong and deep breath and the scent of her skin; a combination that made her legs shake. She was all shaking but Signum didn't seem to notice anything.

"Is that all you wanted to know?" Shamal asked, trying to keep her tone angry and for her voice not to tremble, looking at Signum only from the corner of her eye; barely keeping control to not do something she would regret the rest of her life "If that's it, let me go now."

But Signum did not let her go. She could not let her go, she could not let her leave.

"I asked if you cared about him?"

And if possible, she brought Shamal even closer to her body, who almost gasped trying to resist; more to what she was feeling than to what Signum was doing, to no avail. They were so close to that Signum's mouth was barely an inch from her ear when she heard her say hoarsely.

"I can't stand him around you like that."

"Like… that… how?" Shamal barely asked with her voice in a thread.

"Like this," Signum said in a whisper before covering Shamal's lips with hers. It was a soft but possessive kiss; Signum's lips moved over hers, devouring them softly, claiming them as her territory and her arms keeping her imprisoned, pressed against her body.

Signum only stopped when she noticed something salty mingling with the taste of Shamal's lips. She pulled away from her a little, finally releasing the other's lips to find tears rolling down her cheeks.

She felt struck by lightning. The thing she least wanted was to hurt Shamal in any way, no more than she already had. But she had ruined everything. Shamal surely didn't want what had just happened and now she was thinking the worst of her. And she would be right.

"Shamal… I'm sorry," she said with an embarrassed and pained look, releasing the grip she had on the other, I didn't mean to…"

But Shamal stopped her with trembling fingers on her lips. "Signum, you…"

Signum just lowered her head and was already pulling away from Shamal with a dead weight on his chest when she felt Shamal hugging her tightly, throwing his arms around her neck almost desperately so she wouldn't pull away. Signum took her lightly by her waist, cautiously, until Shamal finally pulled away from her to look at her and slowly take Signum's face in her hands. After gazing into her eyes for what seemed like an eternity, almost fearfully, she reached out to touch her lips with hers. The first touch was timid, tentative, but as Signum's lips responded, the kiss deepened.

When they finally pulled away, there were no more tears in Shamal's eyes and although she was blushing to her ears, she also had a wide smile as she looked at Signum with bright eyes.

"Don't you dare apologize for that," she said, "and hopefully you want…"

Signum was still dumbstruck and looked at her without half understanding; she didn't know if she had passed out or if that truly had happened… was happening… she never imagined really kissing Shamal like that and least of all, for her to correspond.

"… to do it again, you dummy," Shamal finished saying and with newly found confidence, leaned in to kiss her again.

She was definitely kissing Shamal… in the office showers. She hoped Testarossa would make use of her proclaimed intelligence by standing at the door to not let anyone in.

Shamal apparently had forgotten that 'little' detail. She had never even come to imagine how it would feel to be kissed by Signum like that, but now she no longer had to imagine it, now she already knew that it was the best feeling in the world.

— X —

Verossa was still recovering from the beating he had taken when his boss approached with a smile.

"Very well done, my dear Agent Verossa. Maybe Section 6 is not the best fit for your professional career, but rather Covert Operations."

"Ha… and you say that… Colonel Yagami," the poor soul was still rubbing his neck and he'd be doing the same with his crotch had she not been standing in front of him. "But this favor is going to cost you."

"Well, well," she said pointing at him with a reproving finger.

"Yes, this today, exceeds my risk capacity. A lot. Another one and Signum will kill me for sure."

"Don't be a wuss, Verossa, at least now you know you have to train harder. Fate lasted _way_ longer than you. That is regrettable for any member of my team."

Verossa was not in the slightest amused by the remark.

At first, when Hayate had asked him to be more expressive with his displays of affection towards Shamal it seemed great; even more so when he noticed how Signum got irritated by it. Well, it was actually fun to see the inaccessible and cold Lieutenant like that. But what had happened earlier, had not been fun at all. He could not understand how Hayate dared to play with fire like that.

"Signum would never really hurt you… unless you were really getting close to Shamal with other intentions, that is," Hayate said as if she was reading his mind, and Verossa wondered if the entire family was completely nuts.

"Well, well, it's over and your help has been really valuable, Verossa. Making Signum realize things in another way would have taken much more time and time is something we don't have," Hayate said looking at her watch.

"I thought there was a time for everything."

"Very true, Verossa, everything requires its own time. And desperate times call for desperate measures. By the way, what did you say was the name of the guy you fancy so much?"

Verossa blushed embarrassed. How dare his boss ask him a question like that in the middle of the hallway? He looked at her somewhat irked but Hayate remained unabashed, waiting for an answer.

"Alphard… Alphard Dyna."

"Hmmm… from Chrono's team, right?"

After that, she left smiling more enigmatically than usual. Rein shot a sympathetic look at Verossa and left following her Colonel. Verossa watched them walking away; he was sure those two could do anything they set their mind to.

— X —

During the previous days, they had advanced a lot, discarding a lot of people they were investigating related to the serial killer of families; Nanoha had also advanced in profiling the kind of subject they were after. However, they were not close yet to have any actual suspect.

Hayate had called them in for a meeting very early in the morning to reconsider their strategy; they needed to do something different to catch that individual. They could not just wait and see what we would do next and especially, they could not keep behind him in that manhunt. Even though she did not make any mention of it to anyone, not even her family, the 'warning' he had left at her home had been more than a threat to Hayate, it had been an affront to her family and no one, absolutely no one would remain unpunished for that. Despite her promise to let Fate lead the case, she was now getting more and more involved.

And so, in the largest meeting room of Sections, there were gathered Fate's team, as always, along with Griffith and Verossa with the most prominent members of their teams. It was the largest meeting they had held and that was because Hayate was willing to go all in.

"… so, taking into account the profile Dr. Takamachi has prepared, we will hold a press conference and will get information out to the public. We need someone to provide any information, we need to start moving our pieces and not just wait for this man to move them," she said to everyone present.

The Colonel's idea was simple and risky. They needed to take down two birds in one shot. One, finding Grangaitz, and two, answering the real killer's challenge.

"You seem very convinced that Grangaitz is not the killer," Fate pointed out. Just as Rein had foreseen, Fate had not liked Nanoha's profile and diagnosis at all.

"I don't entirely rule it out, Fate, but the most compelling piece of evidence has been Vivio's response. You saw the child when we showed her the pictures. There was absolutely no reaction from her to Grangaitz's picture," Hayate was the only one who could stop Fate under those circumstances. "When we asked her if she had seen the man at her house, she fervently denied She also denied ever seeing him."

"But that man knows something for sure," Fate insisted.

"And that's exactly why I want to hold the press conference and point him as our main suspect and where we request any information regarding him or his whereabouts. We will give some of the details of the killer's profile that Nanoha gave us and some other details not as specific, that will surely be a challenge for the killer."

The risky part of Hayate's idea was that she literally was trying to provoke the killer. Nanoha's profile already indicated he was a sexual sadist psychopath. Hayate, not only would assign his _merits_ to Grangaitz, but she also wanted to call him weak, impotent, and other things. They would mix actual traits with false ones in the press conference they would have to warn the citizens, trying to capture Grangaitz and provoking the killer.

"Don't you think it's a very risky move, Colonel?" Verossa intervened as he realized where Hayate was going with that. "To give Grangaitz merit for the murders is already enough to piss off the real killer."

"I am counting on that, Verossa, and that it will lead him to an unplanned move. We will increase the security of our protected ones and we will need a new strategy… and a trap."

"So, you pretend to shake the hornet's nest," Fate, who was standing with her arms crossed, said.

"That's right," Hayate smiled. "That's why I gathered you all here. Once we do that, we will have some very stressful days. We have to lay it out very well. Verossa's team is reposting that the most likely place Grangaitz is hiding are the city's slums. I have requested help from Chrono and the intelligence area with one of their undercover agents that work in that area. Akira and Ren claim to have been following Grangaitz's track, getting very close to him, but he was able to shake them off as he entered a very dangerous and labyrinthic zone."

"That's why it should have been us," Zafira said without any emotion, merely stating a fact. "No offense, Agent Verossa."

Verossa merely raised his hand indicating he did not take it as an offense.

"No Zafira, it was actually better like this. We have identified the area in a much better way; Akira and Ren have done a good job. Right now they are in the field reinforced by Subaru and Teana, and although we still do not have Grangaitz, I am sure that he has not moved. He is surrounded. We have to make him come out of his hole and catch him."

Nanoha was just sitting, completely absorbed in her own thoughts, almost without paying attention to what was being said about Grangaitz; there was something in her head she could just not let go of.

"That's another proof that he is not the killer," she said at last as if she could not hold back anymore.

Everyone looked at her and waited.

"Yes, the last thing the person we are looking for looks like, is a killer. He does not lead a sordid life, on the contrary. He hides in normality and simplicity, not in the low worlds. It is very likely that he is appreciated and respected in his community, it is possible that he is even charming and kind. That's the facade that makes him so dangerous, Colonel Yagami. He doesn't look like a monster even though he is… I must say, I agree with Agent Verossa; I don't think shaking that particular hornet's nest is such a good idea."

Staring at her, Hayate insisted. "We need to do something, Nanoha. We need to do something he is not expecting at all. We need him to make a mistake."

"But what you are thinking could cause a crisis and unleash unexpected and very unpleasant consequences. Remember that he is killing within the group of researchers but nothing prevents him from going out and killing outside of that group. Chances are he has done it before. We have to establish what is his relationship with that group to catch him and prevent him from hurting others," Nanoha explained.

"The truth is we don't know if he's only murdering researchers, Nanoha," Verossa pointed out.

"That's true," confirmed Lucino, who had been in charge of investigating all the murders that included extreme violence within the last five years and that remained unsolved. "I have found at least fifteen murders without any direct relation to the families of researchers that could easily have been done by the same subject."

"Lucino and I are now looking into those cases to see if we can find something that gives us a suspect that we can tie into this case," Alto completed.

"I agree with that," Nanoha said. "That's exactly what I was saying. The key is determining why he chooses his victims and what he gets from them in particular."

"Nanoha, the truth is that, just like you, I am less than thrilled by the idea of poking the nest, but we cannot stay with our arms crossed just waiting. I don't want the guy to kill again, I don't want anyone getting hurt, and the sooner we find him, the better for everyone."

Hayate's plan was to hold the press conference as soon as she had permission from Deputy Director Carim and Admiral Lindy. They would put Grangaitz as the main suspect in the murders of the Alpine and Yazawa families, although without ruling out that there could be one or more people involved. They would present the suspect as an unbalanced, emotionally unstable, highly dangerous, insecure, and powerless man who had not been able to bear the success of his colleagues.

"I will handle the press conference along with Fate- Verossa, Griffith, I need Ellis and Misato to join the field teams as of right now to surround Grangaitz even more, along with Signum and Zafira. Fate and I will have an intervention op ready on your mark. Until then, Signum, you will lead the field op.

Signum, who had been standing, leaning against the wall, during the whole meeting, nodded looking at Verossa. Shamal had assured her in the most convincing way possible (kisses could be quite convincing) that nothing, absolutely nothing, was happening between her and Acous, so for the first time in days, she could look at the man without a stomach ache and without wanting to kill him.

"We want him alive, Lieutenant," was all that Verossa said with a serious tone. Admittedly, he did not shrink under Signum's cold blue gaze.

Instead of answering, Signum looked at Misato Mikami and Ellis McGaren. Both were excellent in combat and weaponry; Misato especially was perhaps as deadly as she was. The two women were second in command for Verossa and Griffith respectively just as she was for Fate. Hayate was really going all in.

"I hope you rested these days, because, as soon as we have the press conference, I will have you all on alert mode," Hayate said, dead-serious looking at everyone.

— X —

The press conference held that afternoon had been quick and concise. Hayate had managed most of it as she knew that Fate was not amused by the media show, although she was extremely skilled in it, almost like everything else the blonde agent did.

It was past dusk and everyone was on alert, waiting. After reading the profile that Nanoha had prepared for them for the umpteenth time and having a long talk with the researcher before the press conference, Hayate had decided to be cautious and not unnecessarily provoke the killer ... for now. She limited herself to declaring Zest Grangaitz as the main suspect in the investigation, but what she did do was attribute him with the label of a psychopathic, dangerous, and deeply unbalanced murderer. Although she also emphasized that the suspect most likely was not working alone, so all citizens should exercise extreme caution and notify the police of any possible suspicious person. Hayate would rather have the police overwork for a few days than mourn another fatal outcome.

At that moment, also reading for the umpteenth time, the profile prepared by Nanoha, Fate was sitting on the couch in her office, only lit by a small lamp next to her even though it was already quite dark. She had always preferred that gloom to the extremely bright institutional lighting. Hayate made fun of her saying that she stalked her visitors in the shadows, but Fate liked it that way. Therefore, she was able to perfectly see when Nanoha approached the door looking at her empty desk somewhat puzzled.

"I'm over here," she said, getting up from the couch and attracting Nanoha's attention towards her.

"Ah…! Fate I did not see you there," Nanoha replied, turning to the blonde. After their quick conversation in the morning after the encounter with Signum, she had not crossed a single word with Fate. The agent had even barely looked at her during the meeting they had with Hayate, and after that, she had been completely busy until that moment.

It seemed unbelievable that barely the day before she had felt so close to her and suddenly, they were so… distant. Nanoha was not upset anymore with the blonde for ignoring her in the morning and she finally had not even gone to the university, finding any excuse to stay since she did not want to leave without speaking with Fate.

"Are you reading the profile?" she asked, still from the door, looking at the dossier in Fate's hands. It was that document in particular the reason she was looking for her.

Fate merely nodded without a word. Still standing, she moved her hand pointing towards the couch, so Nanoha would sit down. Fate's office was comfortable but simple and not as large as Hayate's. It had a floor-to-ceiling window that faced the exterior of the building and the door looked down the corridor of the section that her team had assigned; Fate's office along with Verossa and Griffith's was on a second level from where they could see everything that was happening around them. Apart from a neatly arranged bookcase just like her dark wood desk, the rest of Fate's furniture only consisted of the comfortable couch where she was sitting, a dark wood low table in front of it, and a couple of lamps; The one on the sofa and the one on her desk. There were no photos, no paintings, no acknowledgments, no unnecessary decorations... not even a plant. Nothing that said anything about the person who spent so many hours in that office.

Nanoha's heart ached despite herself. She already had some idea of what pain Fate harbored in her heart and could read those signals in the space around her. The agent wasn't going to let anyone get close to her so easily. She cautiously approached the couch and sat down trying to respect Fate's personal space as much as possible. For her, that space spoke more than many things that Fate could say to her and she realized that it was the first time that she had entered her office.

Fate sat down in her same place again, with the dossier still in her hands. Nanoha knew that what was written in that report had affected the agent. She was very sure that the murderer they were pursuing was related to the death of her family but Nanoha was equally sure that it was not like that.

"I am sorry, Fate," she said before being able to stop herself. Fate did not like her to be apologizing all the time, but this time she could not avoid it.

For a while, Fate did not say anything and just looked at her.

"Why are you so sure that… the murder of my mother and my sister, was done by someone else?" she asked at last. Her voice sounded controlled, cold, but in her heart, Nanoha knew that Fate had struggled a lot to ask the question.

Nanoha took a deep breath getting ready. There was no point in denying it. She cared about Fate… a lot. She had to do what she had come to do well, and she had to do it without hurting her.

"I analyzed all the information that Alto and Lucino provided about all the cases, including… your family's. In all the scenes, except for that one, the subject shows extreme violence that can only be associated with deep resentment. The man is a psychopath, Fate, what he did to those people is…"

"Indescribable," Fate completed for her, "I know."

Nanoha nodded and continued. "In your family's case, it's different. The scene shows a level of control and organization that this subject lacks."

"Are you saying that the person who murdered my family was not a psychopath?"

"No!" Nanoha was prompt to answer, "well he probably is one too, but of a different type."

After a pause, she continued. "The first time these subjects… kill in that way, they usually don't possess that control. They do so in an outburst, bound to a predatory compulsion that they are no longer able to control. After that first crime and the ... pleasure it provides, they refine and perfect it, reaching new stages of violence and depravity ...

"I do not see pleasure in the murder of your family, Fate," Nanoha said looking directly into Fate's eyes, wondering whether she should tell her what was on her mind, but then she remembered she had already decided. "Your mother and your sister were murdered, Fate, but they were not tortured. The subject, whoever that was, murdered them as quickly as he could for reasons that were neither his pleasure nor his desire."

Fate understood everything Nanoha was telling her, it had been part of her training as an agent. She could still remember the first time she had seen, as an adult, the records on her family's murder. Lindy and Hayate had fervently opposed but Fate had stood her ground stating that if she was not able to overcome that, then she would never be a good agent in the section of violent crimes. Her adoptive father, Clyde Harlaown, and her brother, Chrono, were not entirely convinced but agreed to support her idea as long as Fate agreed to do it under psychological counseling. Fate agreed and for six months, she was under the supervision of TSABs psychological aid. After that, she had convinced herself she had withstood and defeated the ghosts of her past when she had faced the full report and the pictures of her family's murder, but now she was having second thoughts.

"In the subsequent murders, we can see the violence escalating progressively until reaching a breaking point that I am sure will turn out to be the Yazawa family. Your family's murder does not show a pattern of hatred or extreme violence. And it cannot be considered… as a sexual crime, either."

Nanoha's last words made Fate realize something.

"Did you see the pictures?" Fate asked without looking at the researcher.

"Yes," she answered softly.

The thing Nanoha wanted the most was to hold Fate's hand right at that moment, but she knew it was not the best moment and that Fate would probably not take it well.

Nanoha had also read the technical report of the file on the murder of Fate's family but there was still more she didn't know. After reading several times the profile that Nanoha had prepared Fate pondered how much she should tell her. A part of her, her rational part, realized that Nanoha had a point in what she was saying and that maybe the researcher was seeing things that she nor anyone before, had noticed. Her emotional part, however, the one where that little girl who had lost her family lived, still mourned the loss of her mother and sister. But what was completely true is that all of her wanted justice. Finally, Nanoha put into words what had been plaguing Fate for days.

"I know this is difficult, Fate, but the more I think about it, the more I am sure that this guy, somehow, not only knows you but is also connected to you. And I am worried."

" _No kidding,"_ Fate thought. She was also worried. Zafira and Signum, along with Alto, Lucino, and Shari, had already scrutinized the last twenty-three years of her life and her family to the last detail and had come out empty-handed. Ever since her mother and her sister had been attacked in the laboratory when she was five years old, she had not heard from the Sankt Kaiser investigations. Her adoptive family was one hundred percent related to the TSAB but there was nothing, neither in them nor in Fate that related them to the people who had died. Nothing.

But instead of saying any of that, she stated, "You did not put that in the profile."

Instead of arguing, Nanoha asked her, "Why do you think he's leaving you those messages?"

That same question had been corroding Fate since the first message, the same night that she had first met Nanoha.

Just like Hayate, Fate decided to go all-in with the researcher. Maybe Nanoha would be able to see something that she had failed to notice and from that moment on, they were really going to need all the help they could.

"I cannot know for sure," she said once she had made up her mind, toughening her heart for what she was going to say, "but I believe it has to do with my family's murder."

Nanoha patiently waited, without pressuring Fate in any way.

"When my mother and sister were murdered, I was with them," Nanoha squeezed her own hands and forced herself to keep calm and composed. "For some reason, the killer let me live."

"You mean, like what happened with Vivio?"

"Something like that," Fate said, finally turning to see Nanoha's blue eyes. The last thing that she wanted to see in them was pity, but what she never expected to see was the reflection of her own pain. "I don't remember what happened."

Fate then told Nanoha all about how her mother sometimes took them to the lab so she could spend more time with her daughters; she told her how she would play with Alicia and what she had been doing on that tragic day.

The last thing Fate could remember was the darkness of the drawer where she had hidden as she played with her sister. She vaguely remembered screams like in a nightmare. Then everything turned black and she had consciousness of herself as a police officer tried to take her away as she was holding on to Alicia's bloodstained body.

As she progressed in her account of the events, Fate noticed that her initial tension was gradually fading. Nanoha never looked at her with pity or compassion, at no time did she interrupt her. When Fate stopped every once in a while in her story trying to remember or trying to maintain her professional facade, she didn't try to rush her or help her; she just waited, not making her feel like waiting was a burden. Fate had never felt that way with anyone she had talked to about the murder of her family. Not even with her adoptive family or the counselor she saw for six months.

When Fate finished, they fell silent, both of them a little lost in their own thoughts. It wasn't an awkward silence and Fate was almost relieved that Nanoha didn't say anything either to try to make her feel better or to comfort her; almost as if she knew there would be no consolation for her until she captured the one that had taken away her family from her when she was just five years old. Fate was uncomfortable and annoyed that people tried to make her feel better, she felt compelled to lie to be 'politically correct' They did not understand that she could NOT feel better! ... Although at last, it seemed that there was someone who did understand.

"I cannot possibly imagine what you went through, Fate," Nanoha said in all sincerity at last. "I cannot say I understand how you are feeling… because, no… I cannot even imagine it, so I will not insult you by telling you pointless words… But what I can tell you, and now I am more certain than ever before, is that the key to this killer is in you."

Fate swallowed with difficulty as she heard Nanoha's words. She had not spared anything in her statement, but she had been honest and had treated her with respect. Fate looked at the woman next to her with new eyes. She already recognized her value as a researcher but now she was recognizing her value as a person; the kind of person she could value.

"I appreciate it," Fate said at last, once she felt sure to be able to control the emotion in her voice. "And… there is something I'd like to ask you."

"Anything you wish," Nanoha said, feeling a nice warm sensation as she heard the genuine gratitude in Fate's voice.

"How do you know that the crime against my mother and sister does not have a sexual connotation? Is the man that killed him also a psychopath?"

Nanoha pondered how to answer Fate's question. The fact that Fate was asking that after what she had told her about her family was a token of trust from Fate and she should honor it; as well as her ability as her agent. She had to tell her as she had explained to Hayate that afternoon.

"It's likely. Although a hitman and a psychopath have a very different moral set from that of a _normal_ person, there are subtle differences between both; but the most important and fundamental one is pleasure. For the psychopath, killing and torturing are a replacement for the sexual act and, by general rule, they hurt the object of their desire, which they cannot obtain in any other way."

"The way of killing is a deep reflection of what is happening within the murderer. The man who murdered your family did not kill for the first time with them. The coroner's reports are clear," Nanoha knew that Fate had read the death reports of her family, Hayate had confirmed it, but that did not make it easy to tell her what she was saying. "They died quickly; they were… stabbed with surgical precision…"

"And that would indicate a hitman and not a psychopath?" Fate asked.

"It's possible, but a hitman does not feel pleasure while killing, he does so in a cold way, putting distance with the victims. Even if he is skilled in several ways of killing, unless there is no other choice, he will stay risk-free and away. He will use long-range methods, or even indirect ones, and will leave a knife as one of the last resources. In many cases, it's possible they will make it look like it was not a murder. I do not have any solid grounds to say this, but I really doubt that a hitman will enjoy looking at their victims in the eye."

"A psychopath, on the other hand, will look for exactly the opposite. He will enjoy seeing the terror in their victims and knowing he holds control over who lives, who dies, and when. In addition to that, the act of stabbing is directly associated with penetration. It is the maximum appropriation of the body of another. Although they have many possibilities to kill, there is a pattern that is the path of their pleasure that they will end up repeating."

Nanoha gave Fate some time to assimilate what she had said before telling her what it would be the most difficult thing for her to tell her, "Although your family was killed quickly, Fate, whoever did it, did it expertly and without hesitation With a knife, he made it personal. I even think your mother probably knew the person who did it. I don't think she would let any man into her lab while she was alone with her two daughters."

Fate considered everything that Nanoha was saying in great detail. For the first time, she was beginning to seriously consider the researcher's hypothesis, no matter how hard it was for her to admit it even to herself.

"What you mentioned before is closely related to the murderer we are looking for," Fate said, "in the Alpine scene, the message he left to me is, _'I let her live'_."

"Exactly, it was his decision. But he did it for a reason." During the talk, almost without realizing it, Nanoha had moved on the couch to see Fate more comfortably and now she was sitting sideways, with her knees almost touching Fate's. "Although this murderer does not kill all people in the same way, there is something that we can consider as a signature, Fate."

Fate did not say anything and just waited.

"The torture. Neither of his victims has died _'easily'_ or _'expeditiously'_. Torture is his ultimate reward and that is his signature. That did not happen with your family."

It was nowhere near a comforting thought, but something in Fate's soul lightened. She still wanted very much to catch the bastard who had killed her family. But Nanoha was right, Alicia and her mother hadn't gone through what she had to see at the Alpine and Yazawa house. There was nothing that would give back her family to her; perhaps nothing, would redeem her, but at least her loved ones had not been raped in that way.

"Couldn't that be because it was his first homicide?"

"It was not the first Fate," Nanoha said looking at her, omitting to say, " _And you know it."_

Fate sighed. "I know, I just wanted to…"

"I know that, too," Nanoha said and this time her reaction was faster than her self-control. When she wanted to realize it, she was already holding Fate's hand in hers.

It was not compassion or pity that had led her to touch the agent. It was the sheer need for human contact. For _her_ contact. Fate was a bit surprised, but she didn't take her hand away from her. They looked at each other; for long seconds they looked at each other as if time had stopped and nothing else existed around them, not the furniture, not the noise of the agents, not TSAB... not Colonel Yagami standing at the door of Fate's office.

"Hmmm… ermmm," despite Hayate's hurry, she decided to be a little subtle upon the scene in front of her, clearing her throat before coming inside Fate's office.

Suddenly noticing Hayate's presence, Nanoha tensed up and tried to release Fate's hand, but she held her hand until Nanoha turned back to see her.

"Thank you," she told her, still staring intensely at her, before softly letting go of her hand and getting up from the couch to look at her boss.

Hayate didn't need to say anything for Fate to know that something important had happened. It was not often that the Colonel herself went from her to her office, Hayate usually called her to hers. Seeing Fate standing up, Hayate didn't keep her waiting.

"Signum called in a minute ago. We have Grangaitz surrounded. It's imperative we start the operation right now. Griffith and Verossa are already waiting."

"Right away," Fate said, activating her intercom, giving specific orders to her team. As of that moment, they were not in alert mode, they were operative.

Fate and Hayate hurried through the hallway and Nanoha rushed behind them until Fate turned around to stop her.

"Where do you think you are going?"

"With you," the researcher answered calmly.

Fate raised her eyebrows. "No way, this is a field op and it could be dangerous."

"I don't care. I am coming with you. You might need me there," Nanoha insisted.

"No, absolutely not," Fate stated sharply.

Hayate looked at her in exasperation. "Fate… we don't have time for this. Dr. Takamachi is right, since she is here, she will come with us and she will stay with Shamal in the bulletproof vehicle… Now, let's go!"

Having said that, she continued her way without waiting for an answer. There was no need for one, it had been an order. Another order that caused Fate a stomach ache at the thought of something happening to the young woman.

Nanoha did not mean to upset Fate, but she was thankful for the Colonel giving the order. She was not as frail as Fate thought. Without saying anything else, she rushed behind Hayate.

" _Damn women_ ," Fate thought before following them.

— X —

**Midchilda City Suburbs.  
Day 26, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 20:30 hrs.**

Fate, Griffith, and Verossa had been deployed along with their most experienced field op team members. Hayate who was in the armored vehicle along with Nanoha, Shamal, Shari, and Rein, followed their steps and gave them indications, aided by the multiple cameras in remote devices that were sending her information about the situation on the ground.

Grangaitz was surrounded, but that did not mean it was any easy to bring him out of his hiding.

Finally, the press conference had given, at least, one of the results they had been hoping for. One of the people that had seen him and heard the word 'reward' had contacted TSAB to provide factual information about Grangaitz whereabouts.

What they did not count on was that Zest had established a wide security perimeter that practically alerted him to the slightest movement, in addition to having placed multiple traps that could be worrisome if they fell carelessly onto them.

All in all, Fate noted that Zest didn't want a direct confrontation and apparently didn't want to hurt them either. The perimeter was defensive, not offensive. And the traps were dangerous yes, but not lethal. They seemed made primarily to delay them so that the man could escape. But that was just something they could not allow.

Covering all possible exits with every agent at her disposal, Fate sent Signum and Misato after Zest, while she and Zafira were left blocking what they considered to be the most viable escape route.

Signum knew they had to capture him in that joint movement. If that man managed to escape, it would be hard for them to have another opportunity like that. Making a clamping movement with Misato on one side and her on the other, they quickly and stealthily entered the security perimeter. They knew that he would know and also that they were on to him with everything they've got. The reason Fate had sent them to them was that they were the best in hand-to-hand combat and with unconventional weapons. Fate didn't want to kill Zest, they wanted to capture him for questioning.

As Signum and Misato hurried through the narrow alleys that led to Zest's lair, the outer circle of agents was closing in. Fate was sure that he would end up leaving for the only alternative they were leaving him and that was where she and Zafira would be waiting for her.

At Signum's signal, Misato violently kicked down one of the protections covering the access to the basement entrance where Zest was hiding, but Signum didn't have time to enter. A small explosion shook the entire structure, it was not large enough to injure them, but it was enough to raise a dense cloud of smoke and dust that almost completely blinded them and rearranged the scene of the escape. The explosion had blocked Zest's rear. He could no longer go out that way, but neither could the agents closing the circle fall on him. Through his personal intercom, Signum heard Griffith shouting orders to Subaru and Teana to regroup in a safer area.

Signum didn't have time to listen to anything else. From the least expected place, a huge shadow fell on Misato who was leading. The woman had managed to react, but her reflexes were not fast enough this time, affected by the noise of the explosion and the lack of visibility. Zest's strike was accurate and brutal. For a huge man, he moved with incredible speed. Signum didn't even pay attention to her partner and lunged at him, but Zest was already waiting for her and this time it was Signum's turn to end up smashed into a wall.

The man had hit them very hard, but his intention was not to stay to fight with them, he only wanted to open an escape route.

"Signum…" she heard Misato call her, who was getting up from the pile of trash where she had ended up after Zest's attack.

"I'm fine, let's go… hurry up," and although she was upset that the man had sneaked up on them like that, Fate's plan was working. The man was going straight to her and Zafira via the only escape route that they had left open for. Signum and Misato's job was to close the clamp with Fate and Zafira, and Zest would be left in the middle of the four of them.

After hearing the explosion, everyone went on alert. Griffith and Verossa were quick to close the circle, even more, to support Fate if necessary while Hayate ordered several mobile units to completely block the sector where Fate and Zafira awaited.

Fate knew the man was coming straight towards them and she stood pointing her automatic gun straight ahead while she waited. What the agent did not expect was that the man in agile jumps used the piles of garbage and debris to reach one of the exterior pipes that led to the roof of a dilapidated building.

Cursing Fate rushed after the man while Zafira tried to get ahead by another route. He definitely knew that area much, much better than they did.

Fate was desperately trying to reach him while shouting the man's movements over her intercom so that her support teams could intercept him. She was confident that Verossa and Griffith could relocate quickly enough.

Zest reached the roof much faster than Fate and was already speeding off into the shadows when a figure blocked his way, several meters ahead. Ellis McGaren had gotten ahead and climbed on the roof before, so when Fate gave the warning, she moved quickly to block the way to the hunk. Zest didn't even slow down when he saw her and lunged at her, but Ellis was not intimidated, grasping her weapon firmly and charged against the man in turn; she was going to stop him at any cost.

The impact was so tremendous that it left Ellis stunned, watching as Zest's back began to drift away in a dark blur. Despite this, she raised her weapon to try to stop Zest, but a detonation was heard before hers.

Signum's voice was heard shouting instructions and more shots, very close to where he was, so she moved trying to get into a covered position but from where he could see what was happening.

Signum and Misato, standing back to back, were firing defensively in the direction from which Zest had tried to escape and also from where he was running as Signum yelled "Snipers!" over the intercom and asked for immediate backup. Zafira finally had Zest submitted on the ground and dragged him to a more covered position. A few feet away, Fate was on the floor, although she was trying to get up, her face was covered in blood.

With a clearer head, Ellis rushed to help Fate, while listening to the air support mobilizing to cover them.

"Fate!" Ellis yelled as he ran over to where the agent was to help her take cover. She now understood that someone had shot them just as Zest was about to run away from them. She had come out of nowhere just then to get in the way. Maybe she had helped get him caught or maybe indirectly ... she had killed him.

Once they were in a more protected position, Ellis could see that Fate had a graze on her forehead that was bleeding profusely and Grangaitz, a dark spot spreading on his left shoulder.

Someone had tried to kill him amidst the confusion of the pursuit, but the chaos itself had contributed to the sniper's failure. He had not hit Grangaitz's head because he was trying to avoid Signum who had arrived just after Ellis, but he had almost hit Fate's head when the bullet went through Zest's shoulder to brush Fate who was behind him and was the third to arrive with Zafira on her heels.

When Fate fell, Zafira threw herself at the also wounded Grangaitz who still tried to escape, subduing him and to some extent protecting him from having his head blown off while Signum quickly fired towards the possible location of the shooters. Misato soon joined her to cover Signum's back and protect the others.

Finally, among the five of them, they had managed to stop Grangaitz. The medical team was on its way and the circle had closed.

Within a couple of minutes, a massive deployment of agents was on the roof while another squad scrambled to try to find the snipers who had attacked them.

Shamal arrived with that squad and quickly went to see Fate. Signum had warned by the intercom that Fate had taken a hit and the doctor saw how Nanoha turned pale in the armored truck where they were together with Hayate.

Only Hayate's direct and firm order to wait there with her kept Nanoha from insisting on going with Shamal to the detention area to see Fate. As soon as she checked the agent and confirmed that she was not in danger, she quickly reassured Hayate and incidentally, Nanoha who was waiting impatiently for news.

Another of the doctors was checking Grangaitz who was already completely restrained and handcuffed by Zafira and Signum.

"How is he?" Fate asked Shamal.

"As far as I can tell, his life is not in any danger."

"At least…" Fate sighed while Shamal finished patching up her forehead. It had been a graze, but not as superficial and with a bullet like that one… Fate had been quite lucky. Less than half an inch and she would not have a head still.

"That was fucking close, Fate, what happened?"

"That's exactly what I want to know Shamal."

"By the looks of it, someone tried to kill Grangaitz," Ellis said, and who had already spoken with Signum and Zafira about the status of the situation.

"But, why?" Shamal asked.

"It seems there's someone that does not want him talking to us," Ellis answered staring at Zest while he was being treated.

"Not only that…" Fate said, noticing something very disturbing. "Whoever that was, he was having as much trouble as us tracking him down, but… he also knew we were coming for him and tried to take advantage of the situation."

The three blond women looked at each other. Signum approached them at that moment to see how Fate was doing and noticed immediately something was wrong.

"What's going on?" she asked bluntly.

Fate looked at her with a serious face. Shamal had cleaned her up and covered the injury in her head, but part of her face and her clothes were still stained with blood. "We have a mole."

"What?! That's not possible…" Signum looked astonished at the three women, while her mind quickly reviewed all the possibilities.

"We need to speak with Hayate, immediately."

Heavily guarded and still with extreme caution, they brought Grangaitz down from the roof where the final confrontation had taken place and led him to the armored truck that had been prepared to transport him. Zafira did not move from him for a moment and Fate ordered Griffith and Vice to escort him while other mobile units guarded them to the site where the helicopter could land to take him to the TSABs section where he would be held for interrogation.

Fate and Signum rushed over to Hayate's armored command vehicle. When they entered they saw the Colonel with her hands resting on the small operating table, extremely serious and pale, despite the success of the operation, Hayate looked defeated.

"Hayate, we have a problem…" Fate started to say.

"Indeed we do," Hayate said with an unusually weak voice as if she were holding together the weight of the world.

Fate then looked at Nanoha, who was looking at her with something very much like terror in her blue eyes.

"He attacked again, Fate," Hayate said with an emotionless voice. "While we were here hunting Grangaitz, he attacked again."

Fate opened her mouth but couldn't say anything. It was not possible. Not even a week had passed; they had reinforced the security of all the scientists under their protection, _"It can't have happened again!"_ Fate thought distressed and then she realized why Hayate was so upset and why Nanoha seemed so scared.

"Nanoha was right, confronting him directly, even in the way we did, was too much." Hayate looked so upset that Fate was almost afraid to ask what had happened. "He murdered Dr. Olivie Sägebrecht... her family, some friends who were visiting them tonight, and the five TSAB agents who were guarding them, Fate. He left a message for us… and one for you."

— X —


	10. Messages and Findings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated E for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.
> 
> TRANSLATOR'S NOTES: Some may have already noticed, but I wanted to mention Aleksei and I are doing our best to bring to you dear readers, a new chapter every Tuesdays and Fridays. Thanks, Anon and NewPenguin for your comments!

* * *

**The Legacy** by Aleksei Volken

**Chapter 10. Messages and Findings.**

— X —

" _The healthy man does not torture others - generally it is the tortured who turn into torturers."_

— _Carl Jung._

— X —

**Midchilda City Suburbs.**  
**Day 26, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 23:30 hrs.**

From the slums they found themselves in, Hayate ordered Griffith and Verossa to be in charge of taking Grangaitz to TSABs bunker where he would remain locked and where he would also be interrogated. Only Fate's team joined her to the new crime scene that was waiting in another Midchildan residential suburb.

It was about midnight when, upon their arrival, they saw one of the cops leaving the house to vomit. The knot that was already present in Fate's stomach tightened a little; she knew the man and he was no rookie or faint-hearted. If he had seen something that had him like that…

They had just barely all gotten out of the huge official TSAB vans when Fate tried to order Nanoha to wait there with the others but she couldn't say the first word; Hayate cut her off without even looking at her as if she had read her mind.

"No, Fate, Dr. Takamachi is coming with us."

At no point did Hayate stop walking towards the house or slow down, leaving Fate standing there with her mouth open not knowing what to say after the order.

Nanoha looked at her, ashamed, and concerned. She didn't want to disobey the Colonel's order, but she didn't want to ignore Fate either.

"Fate, I…"

Fate just looked at her and moved her head, indicating her to follow Hayate with her. The forensics team had a grim look. None were as bad as the police officer they had seen emptying his stomach, but their expressions did not bode well. Few things could make coroners like them flinch.

When they entered the house, it was illuminated only by the lamps that the advance team had placed; there was enough light but much of it was indirect and several areas were in darkness. It would have been cozy if it hadn't been a crime scene.

They found them all in the living room. This time the killer hadn't destroyed anything in the house. All furniture, decorations, and accessories were intact. Not immaculate but whole. They were not immaculate because most of the room, as well as its furniture, were to a greater or lesser extent, splattered with blood.

The bodies were seated, tied in the various chairs and armchairs in the room, forming a circle around a coffee table. They were all there, the five agents who that day were guarding the house of Dr. Olivie Sägebrecht; the doctor, her husband, and her two daughters; Dr. Sägebrecht's sister and her brother-in-law; as well as a friend of the doctor and her husband. That night the Sägebrechts were holding an intimate dinner to celebrate their wedding anniversary and they had guests, so TSAB had increased the number of surveillance agents.

It had been useless.

Seeing the group of people was a brutal blow to Fate. It took her brain a couple of seconds to register what was wrong with them until her mind recovered from the shock and was able to grasp the magnitude of what she was seeing.

All thirteen people had their faces skinned out and their eyes gouged out.

On the coffee table was, carefully placed, an exquisite cut glass vase filled with eyes.

Fate heard Nanoha hold back a gag, and Hayate, holding her breath; she herself only realized that she had done the same until she needed to breathe again.

Once the initial shock was over and they were able to look around, they saw that the faces of the people in the group had been plastered to the walls of the room like bloody paintings. Both people's faces and their bodies 'looked' at the same place. The coffee table.

Fate was about to enter the room when Hayate's hand stopped her. There was too much blood on the floor and on it, multiple prints.

It was then that Fate noticed that the people who had died in that room had a precise slash on the neck, on the jugular. After a few seconds, she understood.

"He bathed himself in blood… literally," she said almost to herself.

Nanoha slowly nodded. Now it was clear why there was so much blood in the room.

"Shamal, do you have any information on the messages?"

"I do," the doctor replied on the channel open for Hayate and Fate.

"Bring it, please."

A couple of minutes later, Shamal entered and approached the three women. The forensics team had already warned her about what she would find, but she still turned pale at the sight only to extend two plastic bags. On to Fate and one to Hayate.

Two messages.

"According to the coroner, the messages were… inside the vase on the table."

Fate and Hayate looked at the paper that was inside the bag in front of them. Even inside the bag, Fate's name and the word TSAB could be read on the back of each message, handwritten in black ink amidst various stains of blood and fluids on the surface of the paper.

"The forensics team removed them to process them before we arrived since the paper was rapidly dissolving and they needed to look for prints in them. They are safe in that bag, you can handle them."

Despite Shamal's comments, both Hayate and Fate put on gloves before taking the bags.

Fate took the bag fearing what she was to read, and undoubtedly, it left her cold.

" _We are connected, Fate, in ways you cannot even start to imagine. Our bond is darker and deeper than the heart of darkness itself. You will soon be back to me and we will be one. In one place that belongs only to us. The ones with you will not be able to share that privilege but don't be sad, they will purify our path with their blood."_

Despite the fact that the message that Hayate read was intended for TSAB, Hayate felt a strange tightness in her chest when reading it. After the bloody warning left at her home, she couldn't help but think that he was addressing her specifically even though it wasn't bearing her name.

" _I hope you have understood the message, I am invisible; simply because people refuse to see me... You can't catch me because you can't see me. You can't see me, you can't catch me, you can't defeat me. I am the seed of darkness and all of those that do not belong to darkness should turn away, but don't harbor false hopes, no one will escape their fate. Not even you."_

After carefully reading the messages, they exchanged them keeping their faces straight. At last, they handed them to Nanoha.

She read them thoroughly, then raised her gaze and met Fate's eyes.

"There's a difference in the handwriting of the messages," she told the women. "We would need to run them through a graphology exam. That's not my area and I know very little about it, but it seems to me they were written by a right-handed and a left-handed person, or more specifically, by an ambidextrous person."

"What makes you think that?" Fate asked.

"I have applied many psychometric tests and have seen a wide variety of handwriting. Although we all have different penmanship, lefties share some common characteristics. I also know that from experience," she said raising her own left hand. Fate realized just then that Nanoha was indeed left-handed.

"Ambidextrous people can be identified even if their handwriting differs from one hand to the other. At a glance, it seems that this could be from two different people, but an expert could determine if it's the same person."

"More than graphological technicalities, I am interested in your opinion about what the messages say," Hayate said, who was still somber and grim.

"The most disturbing one is Fate's," Nanoha said looking at Fate. Her heart had ached as she read the message addressed to the agent.

Fate huffed. "I am sure I do not know that motherfucker!"

Before Hayate or Shamal could say anything, Nanoha was prompt to try to calm Fate down.

"It's probably like that, Fate… However, the issue here is that the subject firmly believes that he shares a bond with you. You don't need to necessarily know him personally, have a relationship with him, or even know who he is. Maybe you have just indirectly met with him. Keep in mind that this kind of subject is unable to establish a true emotional bond with anyone and that they are also unable to get close in a functional way with the object of their desire."

After a pause, she continued with something that left Fate even more worried than she already was.

"It may be someone with whom you have had minimum contact; however, I still believe that it's adjusted to the profile I delivered, so it wouldn't be the guy that serves you coffee in the morning or the one parking your car. It would have to be someone that saw you at a party, an acquaintance, whether from your family or your friends, someone that knows about you through someone else… maybe an old classmate or a neighbor that never got close to you but that watched you from afar… This guy is someone that knows you even if you don't know him… although…"

"What?" Fate asked surly. "Just say it."

"It's possible that you don't know him or that you don't remember him, it may have been something so insignificant that it did not remain in your memory, but…" Nanoha gathered all her courage and confidence to let Fate know she was with her on this, "this subject believes that you are bonded and that at some point, you shared a space and a moment in time, which is the one he wants to go back to… I believe an event in your life has linked you to him and, according to the previous messages, I believe it was the murder of your family. Although I don't believe he killed your family, in a way, he is related to that fact and to you through it."

— X —

**TSABs Main Headquarters, Intelligence Unit Bunker.**  
**Day 27, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 03:30 hrs.**

Fate did not stay much longer at the Sägebrecht family home. Going against their usual procedure, Hayate had ordered her to go to the TSABs bunker where Zest Grangaitz was being detained and interrogate him until she got something out of him.

Although Fate resisted the order, in the end, she had to agree that Hayate had a point. It was the first scene where they had something from the killer: the footprints and the handwritten messages. They had to let the forensics team do their job and Shamal could lead them without a problem. That was the doctor's area of expertise and there was no one better than her. Signum would coordinate the field ops under Hayate's direct command, with the added help of some elements from Griffith and Verossa's team. Shari, Alto, and Lucino would start uploading and processing the information as it arrived. Amy and Rein would work as liaisons at their offices as well as the main headquarters.

The most important thing Fate could do at that moment was interrogating Grangaitz and getting something useful out of him. Fate had said so herself and Hayate had emphasized that to convince her. The man knew something and he was almost killed (and almost her as well in the process) for a reason, and they had to know why, as soon as it was possible.

Fate understood all of that, but her boss's last order had shaken her ground.

"Take Dr. Takamachi with you and have her observe the interrogation from the outside. Keep a comm-line open at all times so she can feed you her impressions. Nanoha, I need you to apply all your science with this guy and help us extract something from him."

Apparently, the last few days Nanoha had earned a special place in the Colonel's trust. Nanoha had warned them that what they intended to do was dangerous and they had ignored it. A family had died. Could that have been avoided? They would never know, and it would be a burden they would have to carry with them their entire lives. Of course, Hayate wanted Nanoha there. That was why she had brought her to the crime scene and why she had asked (ordered) Fate to take her to the interrogation as well.

Fate understood that. What she could not understand was why, even at that moment, her heart ached when she looked at the researcher. She was now sure she would have to deal with the ghosts from her past and she did not want Nanoha there when it happened.

They made the hasty car ride from the Sägebrecht family home to the TSAB bunker in silence. Nanoha just broke it to ask Fate how she was feeling. Until then, Fate remembered the graze she had on her forehead and raised her hand to touch the little patch that Shamal had put on her.

"Fate-chan has been very lucky," Nanoha said to her with a blush covering her cheeks. "I was very worried when they said… you had taken a hit."

Fate swallowed without knowing what to answer. Her life was like that. Not only she did not have time for frivolous things, but more than that, her life was full of risks. That was another reason why she could not let anyone get close to her. That did not mean that sometimes she didn't fervently wish for it… like at that moment with Nanoha.

The red-haired profoundly disconcerted her. _What is she doing here stuck with is in this wild chase after a madman in the middle of the night? Past midnight, actually. She could be in her bed sleeping (or with someone else…)._ The thought of Nanoha living a 'normal' life did not make her feel bad, that is, she did not envy what Nanoha surely had when she was out of TSAB and the way she lived, but she did feel something inside her. A longing for light, perhaps. Like a seed cast into the darkness that germinates and grows and spreads its branches until it is able to reach the sun, Nanoha made something within Fate's soul want to flourish to reach that sun.

Despite everything she was feeling, Fate remained silent. She waited until they reached the parking lot of the TSABs bunkers. The facility was in the same complex as the headquarters but in an area that Nanoha had never seen. TSABs facilities were gigantic and she had actually seen a small fraction of it.

Fate seemed to know exactly where they were going since as soon as they got out of the car, she walked quickly towards a small access. There they went through security checks that Nanoha usually did not pass and she realized that there was already a special clearance for her to enter, surely arranged by Hayate while they were heading there.

Nanoha was struck by the fact that the entrance they were headed to was incredibly small, it had so much security and that it also had an elevator, but she understood it the moment they entered it; Fate selected the button for the top floor… down. The site they were heading to was ten stories down. Nanoha breathed to get used to the idea that she would be at least one hundred and fifty feet underground; she much preferred the sky and the open air, she bore working the laboratory because it had large windows and Scaglietti had that bizarre habit of using everything transparent... that maybe it was not so bizarre after all.

As soon as they arrived, Griffith, Verossa, and Zafira were already waiting for Fate. Griffith and Verossa began questioning Zest as Fate had gone to the Sägebrecht family crime scene with Hayate and the others; unfortunately, after several hours, the officers had not been able to get anything out of the detainee.

"He hasn't opened his mouth. Not even to ask for the bathroom," Griffith informed Fate. "What's more, he doesn't even look at us when we speak to him, he just stares forwards and keeps shut. We have tried everything, good-cop bad-cop, Verossa has tried to use his charming ways, Zafira has threatened him, even I offered him to deal…'' At that moment Fate shot him a reproving look, "I know, I know, we cannot offer him anything Hayate does not authorize, but I wanted to see if it would induce any reaction from. So far… zilch. I hope you gals have more luck."

Fate went to the interrogation area. The room they were in was spacious and dimly lit, the only light seemed to come from the multiple computer terminals and other multiple technological devices; in the middle of it there was an area of about fifteen by fifteen feet; it was literally a transparent cube where Zest Grangaitz could be seen sitting down, handcuffed at the ankles and wrists to the chair with a table in front of him. The cube was transparent only to them from the outside; from inside, all Zest could see were the white walls and all he was able to hear was silence.

That chamber could prove to be a very efficient interrogation room, or a sensory deprivation room, equally effective. After a week there, few could refuse to talk. But they could not take a week to wear Grangaitz down. They needed to know what he knew, and they needed it fast.

"Shamal and Signum have just sent an update from the Segebrecht scene," Zafira informed Fate. They were so deep underground that they did not have any coverage on their mobile devices and all the information reached them to the servers in the room where it was directly downloaded.

Fate read the update, grabbed a device with a larger screen, and went to the cube.

When she entered the room, Zest did not move. He didn't blink or turned to see her. He did nothing that would indicate he acknowledged there was someone else in the same space he was.

Fate took a place on the table and observed it without saying a word. Zest Grangaitz. Doctor with studies in genetics, artificial intelligence, applied mathematics… The guy was a genius. Barely a year ago he had thrown away all his work and had almost vanished. " _Why?"_ Fate wondered. " _What are you hiding Zest Grangaitz? Why is someone trying to kill you?"_

Fate wanted the man to speak and she already knew that Griffith, Verossa, and Zafira's strategies would not work, so Fate just sat staring at him, thinking what she could do or say to get what she wanted. And then she realized, " _There's something he wants. Something happened in his life that made him change and abandon EVERYTHING he had."_ Fate eyed him carefully, Zest was not looking at her, but his eyes did not show fear or insecurity, not even the pain that she surely was feeling for the wound on his shoulder, on the contrary, a fire burned in them. He was detained and restrained but he did not have the posture of a defeated man. He was upright, confident, still beaten, covered in blood, and handcuffed; he looked ruthless. " _This is a man on a crusade; yes, there is definitely something he wants, and it is what he wants the most in life. Something for which he is willing to die. Nanoha was right; this is not the assassin we are looking for, he never has been."_

Much to her surprise, one that Fate hoped hadn't been reflected on her face, during her musings Zest had finally looked at her; so suddenly, she found a pair of dark eyes staring directly at her. Unlike her predecessors, Fate had been inside for several minutes and still hadn't said anything. She hadn't spoken to him, she hadn't offered him anything, she hadn't threatened him. Actually, Fate was thinking about what she was going to do but apparently, the silence had worked even better.

From the outside, Griffith and Verossa wondered what the hell was Fate doing while Zafira and Nanoha just observed.

Fate finally made up her mind for a direct yet subtle strategy, apparently, subtlety worked better with this man than strength.

"Do you really believe you will achieve it like this?" she asked.

Zest frowned at the question but refrained from answering.

"I am also on a crusade," she said, staring into his eyes at all times. "Twenty-three years ago, a man… someone I thought for a while might have been you, took away my family from me; my mother and my sister were murdered by this man…"

Fate noticed how her words were affecting the man despite his efforts not to show something.

"… a man that was never captured after that and who has now killed many more people. And he will continue to do so until we stop him."

Something had changed in the way Grangaitz was looking at her. It was still a dark, inscrutable look but now there was understanding in them, and something more, a struggle. Fate knew that was her chance.

"There is only one thing I wish for, even above finding the murderer that killed my family… and that is to avoid that this man keeps killing innocent people. Innocent little girls." Having said that, Fate extended the portable device she had, with the pictures of Olivie Sägebrecht's children just as they had been found on the crime scene, two little girls, the eldest, nine, the youngest one, six. To them, the killer did the same he had done to their parents and the other people at the house.

Fate noticed Grangaitz lowered his gaze to her dismay and he looked back at her, a fury was burning in his eyes and he was shaking.

"Those girls were alive when the man we are looking for did that to them," that was what the last report Shamal had sent before she entered the room with Grangaitz, said. The forensic report indicates that all the people at that house were alive as they were skinned and their eyes were gouged, and with a slash to their jugular they all bled to death. The blood splatters found at the scene indicate their hearts were still beating with enough strength to reach those distances."

"I do not want your help, Zest Grangaitz," Fate told him, looking at him with identical fury. "I demand to know what you know, to prevent this from happening again. And I demand it because something tells me that you and I want the same thing... justice."

"No, Agent Testarossa," Zest said, surprising her since she had not told him her name at any point. And not because she had purposefully kept it from him or because the protocol did not require her to identify herself in those cases, but merely because she had truly forgotten being completely wrapped up in making him talk. "I do not want justice… I… demand vengeance."

"How do you know my name?" Fate asked.

"Precia had two daughters, with long blond hair… and crimson eyes," Zest answered with sorrow. "I take it you must be Fate."

Fate had no recollection of the man in front of her from her childhood, but there was a lot she could not remember, a lot she had made an effort to forget.

Outside, everyone, but Nanoha and Zafira, was gaping. New information arrived on the servers, this time from Alto and Lucino and it was marked as urgent. Zafira knew that, being inside interrogating, Fate would not check her device but after seeing what it was about, Fate had to know, and fast, so he asked Nanoha to let her know through the intercom. Fate had only left the channel with Nanoha. That had been Hayate's orders after all, hadn't it?

"But, Zafira-san… they are at a critical point. If it's interrupted now it might…"

"Believe me Nanoha, this is really important, and both, even Grangaitz, need to know this information as soon as possible."

Somewhat reluctantly, Nanoha accepted and activated the intercom and she asked Fate to step out urgently. That did not amuse Fate at all.

"What the hell is going on? The man was finally talking to me after not talking to anyone in hours!" Fate yelled at Nanoha, striding towards her when she finally got out of the cube.

"It was me, Fate, I asked her to call you," Zafira said, stepping forward and almost standing in front of Nanoha. It wasn't fair for Fate to behave like this with the girl and her discontent with Fate's attitude was reflected in her eyes as he told her to check the new information on her device. "Lucino and Alto have just sent that information."

Fate speedread the file and opened her eyes wide, "But how, these are…"

Zafira did not say anything.

"Alto and Lucino are completely sure of this?" Fate asked with a different attitude.

"You know they are, Fate," Zafira was still very serious, standing next to Nanoha.

"Okay, okay, Zafira I understand the point, it's just that, you know, this day is turning out to be more intense than we anticipated," she said slightly embarrassed raising her hands as a peace offering; just as she was turning around to go back inside the cube, Zafira's voice stopped her.

"Fate… aren't you forgetting about something?"

Fate looked at him disconcerted until Zafira turned and glanced at Nanoha.

"Uh… Zafira-san, no, it's all right. I understand that Fate… I mean, that Agent Testarossa is under a lot of pressure right now."

"No, it's not fine," Zafira interrupted Nanoha's words. "I don't recall you being like this, Fate."

This time it was Fate's time to blush. Zafira was her subordinate but he had always been like an older brother for many years during her school days with Hayate. Chrono was her adoptive brother and she adored him, but Zafira had also been very close to her, and apparently, he still had a thing or two to teach her.

Fate looked at Nanoha with some color still on her cheeks. "I… am sorry, Nanoha, Zafira is right. I should not have talked to you like that. You are part of my team and I trust you. If you ask me to step out there has to be a very important reason for that. It won't happen again."

Nanoha nodded and watched Fate as she returned to the cube still blushed. Even if Zafira had pressed Fate into apologizing, the agent's eyes as she apologized were sincere and as it always happened when she looked at her in that deep way, Nanoha felt those crimson eyes going through her and touching her soul.

Fate returned to the room but did not speak just then, weighing how she would tell Grangaitz the new information they had uncovered.

"I do not want vengeance, Zest Grangaitz,"

"You think that now, but you will change your mind," Zest interrupted with his eyes glowing.

Fate considered it while looking at the man in the eye. Many times, she had considered the dilemma, especially in those long nights when sleep did not come: What would she do if one day she had the real murderer of her family in front of her? Would she arrest him or unload Bardiche's full clip on him? She had killed human beings before ... but she had never wanted to kill. On the contrary, she loathed every single time it had to happen, whenever there was no other way out. But would it be the same when it came to be 'him'? Would she become someone like Zest Grangaitz one day?

"Maybe," she said at last. "I may be an Enforcer, but I am also human, just like you. But right now, I'm not the one having to make a choice. It's you. I can only offer you justice. We held a press conference where we made public that you were our prime suspect, and that's correct. You are suspect of withholding information relevant to the murder of the families, and by not disclosing that information to the authorities, you are obstructing the investigation."

Zest laughed sarcastically and bitterly.

"But that is not the worst of it, Zest. Do you know what is WORSE than what you are doing?"

Zest looked at her in silence. Fate had not convinced him that he should talk.

"The worst thing is that with your decision of not speaking, the only one you are helping is the murderer of those people," Fate emphasized, almost smashing the device on the table with the pictures of the last crime scene.

Zest's expression changed but he would not say a thing.

"Do you want to see the face of the people that tried to kill you?" Fate asked.

Zest was surprised again. That woman was not like the others who had questioned him before. She didn't ask him questions that he expected, she surprised him, she challenged him. And apparently, she didn't judge him for wanting revenge. She treated him as an equal. She was really the daughter of Precia Testarossa.

Fate transmitted the pictures to the device that Zest had in front of him. Two young but weathered faces appeared side by side.

"Do you recognize them or have seen them before?" Fate asked.

Zest shook his head, still looking at the pictures. He had never seen those youngsters in his life.

"By your expression, I would say you don't have any idea who they are then?"

"No, I don't know who they are," Zest replied, matching Fate's tone, looking at her defiantly.

"Veyron and Cypha von Huckebein," Fate explained. "The correct word to describe them would be, mercenaries. They might be hitmen, terrorists, soldiers… think of any illicit or anarchic activity and they not only can do it but will be delighted to do it. Apparently, you are the latest ' _duty'_ they received.

Zest looked again at the images in front of him like this. Yes, the people who looked at him had the cold, deep, and unforgiving gaze of those who kill professionally.

"They belong to a large… family, so it's not just the two of them; they are literally an organization. They work in different countries and although there are apprehension orders against them, they have not been detained. Why do the Huckebeins want to kill you, Zest?"

"I haven't the slightest idea." And Zest's answer was truthful. Now he understood why he had felt like being hunted for the past few days. He had been able to keep TSAB off his tracks, but not those professional hitmen. If TSAB had not arrived he surely would have fallen into their hands.

For Fate, it was also clear that Zest was no rival for the Huckebeins. "Don't fool yourself Zest, the Huckebeins never go in alone. Our sensors detected shadows from where they attacked us and in the laboratory, they have been able to obtain images that correspond to Cypha and Veyron but surely there were more of them after you. Out there, someone definitely wants you dead and you don't have the slightest possibility against them."

For over an hour Fate kept talking to Zest, trying to convince him to tell them what he knew, to no avail. Zest seldom spoke to Fate at times; he had told her about her mother and what had been the relationship between them; he told her about the first time he had seen Fate when she was still a baby and Alicia was three years old. He told her about the past but nothing about what they needed to hear.

By six in the morning, Fate decided to take a break. Somehow, despite Zest speaking with her (something the others had not been able to), he had closed back again.

Fate plopped on a chair. She had no idea what buttons to push to keep advancing, to get what she needed.

A steaming mug appeared before her.

"Have some tea, Fate. It'll do you good." It was Nanoha. For the past hours, she had remained next to Fate, making brief remarks over the intercom. It had been a while since Nanoha had told her she was not making progress with Grangaitz, but Fate had insisted on remaining longer with him.

Fate drank the tea in silence, still pondering until Nanoha's voice interrupted her.

"I have an idea, Fate, but I need you to trust me."

"What's it about?" Fate asked, tired.

"I cannot go in detail, that's why I am telling you to trust me, but something you need to know is that I need to go inside with you to the cube and for you to let me speak with Dr. Grangaitz without him being cuffed."

"The exhaustion must be affecting you, Nanoha," Fate replied seriously. "There is no way we are releasing Grangaitz."

"I don't want you to release him, I want him uncuffed and to let him sit comfortably. I want you to let me come with you bringing him a cup of tea like the one I brought you and to let me talk to him."

"Grangaitz is not our guest, Nanoha… he's a suspect!"

"Yes, I am aware, but I also believe you already know he did not do it, correct? Someone else was murdering the Sägebrecht family while TSAB was capturing Dr. Grangaitz. Also, he hasn't been charged with anything, and as far as I know, in this country, there are still constitutional rights, no?"

Fate clenched her jaw.

"We need him to collaborate, Fate and we need for him to want to collaborate. We need him to be our ally, not our enemy. Let me at least try."

"Nanoha is right, Fate. That's a strategy we haven't tried." Zafira, who had remained silent all that time, chose that moment to back Nanoha's idea up. Apparently, all of the Yagami family had a high opinion of the red-haired. The only thing she was missing was for Signum to launch a campaign in favor of the researcher.

Fate thought about it for a few seconds before agreeing. Something told her she would come to regret it, but it had been Hayate the one insisting she had to listen to Nanoha, no?

So after finishing her tea and reviewing the latest updates from the forensic laboratory that she had also pulled an all-nighter, she prepared to go back inside accompanied by Nanoha.

Fate was the one in charge of approaching and releasing the handcuffs that restricted Zest at his ankles and wrists. The man thought they would eventually transfer him elsewhere, so he was surprised when that didn't happen and that the two women stayed in the room with him.

Fate indicated that he could move if he wanted to. With a little effort, Zest got up and as he could, with his shoulder bandaged, he stretched his legs and arms, moving slowly without losing detail of the women. Nanoha placed a cup of tea on the table and indicated to Zest that it was for him if so he wished.

"If you had asked me for tea in another way, maybe I would have said yes," Grangaitz said with a serious tone but Nanoha detected a slightly humorous touch in the snide remark. Maybe her plan would work.

"Dr. Grangaitz," Nanoha started, "Agent Testarossa has told you what we are doing here and why we need your collaboration. I am sorry that you are detained but it is not a decision in which I have influence. My name is Nanoha, Nanoha Takamachi and I am only a civil and temporary collaborator of TSAB. I am trying to help them with this case."

Zest remained standing up, still reluctant to take the cup of tea on the table although he was starving and was thirsty.

"The truth is that I asked Agent Testarossa for me to speak with you, although she does not entirely agree because I am sure that you are not the murderer TSAB is looking for and that you are not related to him. I also believe, as Agent Testarossa told you earlier, that you have something very important to do and you will not rest until you get it done. I came here to tell you that you will not be able to do it alone especially if what you are looking for has something to do with the murderer we are looking for."

Zest remained in his silence although he was carefully listening to the words of the young red-haired.

"I would like you to meet someone, Dr. Grangaitz," Nanoha said, making a gesture with her head.

The door that led out of the cube opened and a little blonde girl came in, closely followed by Zafira.

"Vivio," Nanoha called her and the girl ran to hug her legs. Zafira was well known to the girl, since Fate and all the Yagamis, even Signum, would walk around the medical wing during the day with the girl. Although she had recovered physically and was already in a minor care area, she would still not speak a word even though Nanoha and Shamal worked with her every day, as long as they could.

"Vivio, this is Dr. Grangaitz, please say hi to him," the girl, despite Nanoha's request, remained tightly holding on to her leg. She looked at Zest without fear but still would not get away from Nanoha.

Fate was red with the anger caused by Nanoha, setting that WITHOUT consulting her, but she was even angrier with Zafira for having been part of such a thing. Although she didn't like the idea, she would have to draw his attention severely.

"Vivio is staying at TSABs medical wing, Dr. Grangaitz. She is in recovery since she lost her family almost three weeks ago. She was at home when everything happened, but unfortunately, she hasn't been able to provide any information to the agents. Although she is making her best effort, isn't that right Vivio?"

The girl nodded enthusiastically, still clinging on to Nanoha's leg.

"I promised Vivio I would be with her all the time necessary for her to get better. And there are a lot of people here making big efforts to help Vivio and to… determine who hurt her family. That is the reason I am here. As of today, Vivio has been the only one that has survived, Dr. Grangaitz."

Zest was petrified looking at the little girl and the researcher in front of him. One was a civilian, someone with a normal life; the other, a child, a little girl that probably had seen something no child would ever have to see… a little girl like…

"Vivio is really trying, Dr. Grangaitz and she also needs you to try a little harder. I know you have been doing so, trying your best but not in the right way. Not in the way that will yield results. I know you need vengeance, Doctor, but there are others, like Vivio, who need justice."

Zest looked at Vivio and found the little girl staring into his eyes. He knew who that girl was, he had worked on the Sankt Kaiser projects but not on that one in particular. His area of expertise was not human experimentation… that girl had been a victim… twice.

Nanoha got closer to him, with Vivio draped over her legs. "This is not about what we need, Doctor, this is about what the people who have suffered the most, need."

Nanoha extended her hand to Zest, who took a while to understand what the researcher wanted until almost like a reflex, he raised his hand to shake the hand offered by Nanoha. Had he been in hiding for so long that he no longer remembered the basic civil protocols?

"Whether or not you decide to collaborate with TSAB, I am sure you are not the killer, Dr. Grangaitz. However, Agent Testarossa is not mistaken, your silence only helps him. I would only like to ask you, where does the true strength rely on, Doctor? In what you are doing or in what Vivio is doing?" It was Nanoha's turn to stare coldly and Zest met the most ruthless blue eyes he had ever seen. "Vivio was in a coma for several days, but ever since she woke up she has been in long sessions with TSAB agents, looking at pictures of several individuals, yours included, to confirm us, among other things, that you were not responsible for the death of her family; answering questions to the best of her abilities since she was not said a word since she woke up, evoking the tragedy that she lived many times... A five-year-old girl, Dr. Grangaitz, doing everything she can so that the person responsible does not go unpunished."

The doctor was not saying a speech. Just like Fate, she believed what she was saying. She wanted to help the people that were suffering and especially that little girl. "To end up here, like this, is it really worth it for what you intend to achieve, or do you truly want to do something that has a meaning?"

After saying that, Nanoha released Zest's hand which she had held all that time, to take Vivio and step out, but the little girl still kept staring at Zest. After a few seconds, she also extended out her hand, just like Nanoha had done and Zest felt a lump in his throat. The reason why he was doing all that would never again look at him like that and would neither extend a hand to touch him.

He slowly and very gently shook the girl's hand and then Nanoha and Vivio, stepped out with Zafira, leaving Zest alone with Fate again. The agent had seen the change happen in the man after what Nanoha had done; it had been an extremely risky resource, Hayate would go ballistic when she found out, but if that didn't work, nothing else would.

Zest walked over to the table and sat down heavily as if suddenly all the weariness and pain from the months he had spent in hiding were falling on him. He took the cup of tea that was warm by then and drank it slowly.

"Miss Takamachi prepares a very good tea," he said without looking at Fate.

As he placed back the empty cup on the table, he said something that shocked everyone listening.

"Scaglietti."

Fate jumped out of her chair upon hearing the name.

"Scaglietti is the one who wants to kill me," he then looked at Fate and his gaze was not lost anymore. A new determination glowed in his eyes. "Scaglietti is the reason I am in this… crusade, as you have called it, Agent Testarossa."

Fate felt her heart pounding in her chest. Her intercom was silent. Like Zest, she couldn't see those outside the cube, she couldn't see Nanoha and at the moment, the researcher hadn't said anything over the intercom, so she didn't know how she had taken Zest's statement.

"I will tell you everything I know, Agent Testarossa, absolutely everything without leaving anything unsaid. I will also hand you everything I have researched so far," Zest was all seriousness while Fate tried her best not to gape. "I appreciated Precia but I don't expect anything from you and much less from TSAB so there is one thing that I must warn you about and for which you better prepare yourself; the truth is often not what we want to hear and what I am going to tell you is a truth that NOBODY wants to hear. If you are the person I think you are, and if you believe what I tell you, you will understand what it is like to live in hell."

— X —

**TSAB's Headquarters, General Direction Offices for Special Units to the Tactical Division.**  
**Day 27, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 17:00 hrs.**

"Your incompetence shows absolutely no limits!"

The tall, sturdy, gray-haired man who was shouting those words was red-faced from the effort and intensity of his anger.

Hayate doubted that his "outrage" was entirely true. Of course, General Regius Gaiz was deeply outraged that Hayate was already a Colonel being so young… and female, he was outraged that she had Section Six in charge of her; but what angered him the most was that Hayate was, in effect, the opposite of what he accused her of. Hayate was competent, professional, and damn good at what she did, as was her entire team; regardless of Gil Graham, Head of TSABs Tactical Unit being her tutor. That was what really outraged General Gaiz, Hayate knew it just like the other people who were at the meeting at that moment knew.

But Gaiz had his allies, and those could be receptive to the false statements that Gaiz was throwing against her.

At the elegant meeting room for the Special Units General Direction, were present Deputy Director, Carim Gracia; Administrative Director, Lindy Harlaown; the Director of Field Operations for the Intelligence Division, Chrono Harlaown; the Commander of Section 6, Colonel Hayate Yagami and the one who called for the emergency meeting himself, General Regius Gaiz, Commander of Section 9.

Section 9 was, by far, the most important unit and the most controversial one of all the special units. In short, it was their turn to do the dirty work; when things could not be fixed by legal means, they jumped in to bend the limits of legality and achieve the objective by any means. Hayate understood the need for its existence, but she did not approve of it. Her personal ethics wished for the existence of such a group not to be necessary. Her professional ethics told her that that kind of power had already corrupted too much, not only General Gaiz but many others within TSAB.

Just at that moment, General Gaiz was talking about incompetence and negligence.

"It is incomprehensible that another classified military project investigator and his family were murdered! Section 6 is nowhere near solving this case despite the HUGE amount of dedicated resources. This case puts many strategic and security projects at risk; it should not be in inexperienced hands."

Gaiz's intentions were clear to everyone but Hayate waited without saying anything. It wasn't to Gaiz that she had to give an account of her work.

"No one doubts the importance of this case, General," Carim started, who was, first of all, Hayate and Gaiz's immediate superior, something the general was not in the slightest amused by either. "However, throwing out statements on negligence and incompetence can be equally negligent, General"

Gaiz turned even more red of how enraged he already was.

"Do you need proof, Director Gracia?" he asked seriously but with sarcasm dripping from his words, "Of course I have proof. "Auris!" he roared, as a tall and attractive blonde activated the digital screen in the living room.

For the next thirty minutes, Gaiz presented the fatal statistics of all the victims of the Sankt Kaiser projects as well as the count of the casualties that TSAB itself had had; he especially mentioned an extensive list of names of members of Parliament related to Logan Alpine who were 'extremely upset' by the lack of results, as well as the loss of prestige for TSAB with the military forces by putting strategic projects at risk.

Hayate paid special attention to the names Gaiz mentioned. They were all very important and influential, it would remain to be seen if they were 'as upset' as Gaiz claimed or the general was simply using their names as leverage. Some were personal hard-line friends of Gaiz and therefore staunch enemies of Hayate and other members of the liberal court.

Gaiz wanted to use this case as a spearhead to destroy not just Hayate, but all the liberals he hated so much within TSAB. Besides that, it was obvious that he wanted to take the case over now that the hardest work had been done, taking advantage of the investigation that had already been done to gain credit, and incidentally discredit Hayate and Carim. He was SO gross in his approach that Hayate almost wanted to laugh right there at the irony of the situation.

Carim did not appreciate Gaiz and the only reason he was in charge of Section 9 due to his influential hard-line conservative friends ... and that, despite his line of work, they had not yet been able to verify the rumors of corruption and abuse of power that flowed around him. Both Hayate and Carim had to be very careful.

Hayate listened patiently without saying anything. She not only had one, but several aces up her sleeve and the moment to use them was approaching.

"What else do you need, Director Gracia? This case needs to be under Section 9's jurisdiction. We will make sure it is solved with the speed required."

Carim looked at Hayate. It was her turn.

Hayate got up from her seat and unlike Gaiz who practically had to brag about the way he handled his assistant by mean manners and screams, Hayate didn't have to say a word for the screen to show what she needed. Rein would act in perfect sync with her after the brief words they exchanged before the meeting began.

"During midnight yesterday and early morning today we carried out an operation to arrest Dr. Zest Grangaitz. After reporting at a press conference that he was a suspect related to our current investigation, we had several reports that allowed us to carry out the capture operation. The work of Admiral Chrono Harlaown's Operations Division staff was fundamental."

Gaiz narrowed his eyes. At the moment, it had not been made public, not even within TSAB that Zest was alive and that he had only been superficially injured.

"During the capture operation, unknown subjects tried to kill Dr. Grangaitz."

"Tried?" Gaiz said harshly before being able to hold back.

"That's right, general. Tried. The work of field agents, as well as Section 6, prevented it, although the doctor was injured. Right now, after long sessions with Agent Fate Testarossa, the doctor has agreed to collaborate with us in the investigation."

"Agreed? The guy is a criminal. You are not going to tell me, Director Gracia, that you are seriously considering paying attention to anything that guy has to say?" Gaiz was looking at Carim in disbelief, with a defiant attitude that Carim (and everyone else) was already getting fed up with. "What we have to do is recast him in prison and press him until he tells us what he knows."

Hayate remained silent looking at Carim.

"General Gaiz, during your participation, you were not interrupted once by Colonel Yagami or anyone else. I order you to do the same now that the colonel is speaking, or I will find it necessary to order you to leave. You will receive a copy of the report if we have to go that far, although I would prefer it if you stayed and we get things straight to the point."

Carim had been kind and angelic as always, but her gaze was unforgiving. Gaiz reddened once more but didn't tempt his luck. Carim was not bragging. If he was removed from that board for contempt, he would give them arguments against him. Much to his regret, he settled into the chair and kept his mouth shut.

The screen showed the faces of Veyron and Cypha Huckebein below. Although Lucino and Alto had found that information early in the morning, it had also not been opened on the TSAB servers and no one but Fate and Hayate were aware of it.

"These are the individuals that tried to kill Dr. Grangaitz," Hayate said while everyone in the room held their breath.

"That's impossible!" Gaiz again. "You cannot believe that bullshit… Colonel."

"General Gaiz… there will not be another warning."

Hayate did not specifically address Gaiz but knew she had to prove beyond a doubt that the Huckebeins were involved. Lindy and Chrono hadn't said a word during the entire meeting. They were too involved on a personal level with Fate, the agent in charge of the investigation, for anything that they might say to be useful, especially with Gaiz there. Lindy as Carim's immediate superior had other reasons as well; she was very interested in seeing how the young director handled Gaiz. So far, her Special Sections Deputy Director was barely passing the 'evaluation' as she was being too cautious with the guy.

"During yesterday's capture operation, we placed additional surveillance and tracking devices to the ones set on the area, which, by the way, are very few and of very poor quality. That allowed us to get these images before and after the attack against Dr. Grangaitz."

The screen then showed scenes in the gloom, where mere shadows moved nimbly and swiftly, but at some point, they were forced to cross an unexpectedly illuminated area. It was a matter of just a second but when the video was frozen, the faces were easily seen. With a little image processing, the faces of Cypha and Veyron Huckebein were clearly distinguishable.

"No one", said Hayate then, "has to draw little pictures to explain to me the importance of this case and the strategic and instrumental level it has for TSAB. I can assure Director Gracia that all the efforts that have been made have not been in vain. I would like to remind everyone that, at first, no one in TSAB, or outside of it, had noticed the murders of the scientists as the work of the same murderer... until Enforcer Testarossa raised it and her theory was confirmed."

"We have advanced through, step by step, firmly approaching our goal, which is to capture this killer and stop the murders, as soon as possible. The collaboration and the information that Zest Grangaitz can provide for that end is also strategic."

"As of right now, I cannot disclose all the details to unauthorized people," Hayate said looking at Gaiz for the very first time, "but Director Gracia and Admiral Harlaown will have a detailed report from myself and Agent Testarossa about our latest finding."

"What I can say, at this moment, is that I understand the pressure that the parliament and the army are exercising on this case, but I have to say there are very important reasons to withstand the pressure and handle these cases appropriately."

On the screen were displayed photographs of Logan Alpine, his wife, and researcher to the army, Dr. Megane Alpine, and Dr. Zest Grangaitz.

"Dr. Grangaitz has disclosed that little Lutecia Alpine, who went missing two years ago, was his daughter. Dr. Grangaitz maintained a relationship…"

Hayate could not end her sentence because Regius Gaiz was already vociferating out of control.

"That is utter bullshit! I cannot believe you will get to the point to discredit a member of the parliament, MP Alpine just to serve their ends!"

"General Gaiz, remove yourself from this meeting. At once." Carim had slowly risen from her seat.

"Director Gracia, I really cannot believe a single word of this information that goes without saying, completely false! I cannot believe Colonel Yagami did it! Grangaitz is playing her. In our position, we can't allow…"

The door opened at that moment. No one knocked, nor was there an announcement. It was not necessary. The man standing at the door knew he could do that and more. Although he almost never behaved in an authoritarian way, TSAB was his domain, and the situation called for it.

"What can't we allow, General Gaiz?"

Admiral Gil Graham, Managing Director of TSAB Tactical Division, was standing in front of them.

"Admiral Graham, Colonel Yagami is spreading highly sensitive information that is also false. We at TSAB cannot make such statements lightly. The correct thing in this situation is that the case of the murders of the researchers is handled properly by Section Nine.

"Director?" Graham asked, addressing Carim.

"Right now I was ordering General Gaiz to leave the meeting. The General has interrupted Colonel Yagami three times already during her report. I consider his interruptions to only harm the process adding no value to it. Due to the requirement to review the case presented by the General, he will receive a revised copy of the report at the end of the meeting... as well as a sanction for contempt."

Carim did not even flinch. Gaiz had really outdone himself. This time, not even his hard conservative friends would be able to save him from getting discredited after such blatant displays of contempt to his superior's authority. Like it or not, Carim was his superior.

Graham looked at Gaiz who was getting ready to counterattack.

"Admiral Graham, my commitment to TSAB forbids me to listen to what I have been listening to in this meeting and remain indifferent to it, it is within my right to…"

"General," Graham interrupted him, "you may not agree and express it, but the orders from a superior are never to be ignored. There are ways to do that and you know it. So now, follow the orders and walk away. You will be informed of what's pertinent."

Gil was standing looking at Gaiz, who again, tried to say something.

"Right now, General. If you are not out of this room immediately, I'll have you arrested for contempt and obstruction of an official investigation."

Gaiz's eyes glared but he picked up his things and walked out.

"I will have to have a word with you later, General. Expect my call."

Gaiz mumbled something like "As you order," and stepped out without looking at anyone else.

"You may have taken too long to set General Gaiz straight, Carim," Graham said looking at the young woman.

It seemed Gil Graham had been following the meeting since the beginning, remotely. Everyone in that room knew that all of TSAB was monitored, especially meetings like that one.

"Gaiz has powerful connections, Admiral. I would have preferred not to admonish him, but he left me no choice. It almost seemed that he was looking for that. I did not want to give him that pleasure."

For the first time, Lindy intervened after appropriately greeting Graham. "Interesting observation, Carim. Regius never does something just because. It's obvious he's up to something, but I believe he lost control in the meeting, more than it was acceptable, and that's no good for anyone."

Graham agreed with Lindy; Gaiz's attitude was not good for anyone and tolerating it would only bring more complications.

Graham turned to his protegee and pointed to the images on the screen.

"However, out of control or not, he was right in something: You are dipping in very dangerous waters, Hayate. The Parliament is not going to take this information well."

"Unfortunately, it's the truth and we have corroborated it already," Hayate said. Now that they were alone, she could send only to them that encrypted information for their eyes only. Activating a special encryption mode, she transmitted privately the files that were not accessible to the TSABs network. Mole or not, Hayate would not take any more risks.

"Fate has spent most of her day with Grangaitz. If what he said is the truth, the 'discomfort' from the Parliament for the ' _extracurricular activities'_ of one man would be the least of our worries.

After quickly reviewing the files, they all look at each other disconcerted.

"Do you realize now why I could not give this information in front of Gaiz? I would also like to request a level of encryption and special classification for the investigation from now on, in such a way that only Section 6 and you here, can have access to it."

Gil pondered for a moment and finally sat down taking a place at the table of the meeting room.

"Call Agent Testarossa. We need her presence at this meeting."

— X —

**TSAB's Headquarters, Section 6 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes**  
**Day 27, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 19:00 hrs.**

Fate was sitting in the half-light of her office, holding her head between her two hands. Her day had been way too long. And it did not seem it would be ending soon.

She still shuddered, remembering what Grangaitz had told her; she shuddered as she reviewed the final forensic report from the Sägebrecht family crime scene and reading what the killer had done to them; yes, for the first time they had a lot of leads to follow… but at what cost! Thirteen people had been murdered. Thirteen. In a single night… no, in a couple of hours.

Fate shuddered just by the thought that the man who had done that had left a message for her and not only that, according to what Nanoha was saying, she was sure he had a bond with her. Nanoha, that girl that threw her out of balance and who, so far, had not been wrong in any of her observations.

When Zest started to talk about things that fell under the 'classified matter' context, Fate had stepped out of the cube and asked Nanoha to leave. The researcher had done a lot, Zest literally would not have said a word (or at least not that fast) if it had not been for her, but she could not hear what Zest was saying. She still needed to explain Nanoha's actions to Hayate, and as much as her boss liked the researcher, her main priority was to protect the classified information. Nanoha could not know that Vivio was an artificial human being and least of all that their government had supported experimentation with human beings.

Nanoha had resisted, and Fate, as always, had to behave inflexibly and hard. To remember the hurt gaze of the researcher and the look (again) of Zafira reproving her action, caused her an intense discomfort that only added to the ones she was already feeling.

All those things and many more were circling in Fate's head at that moment, but the prepondering feeling was that she had failed in many more ways she could imagine.

One person was observing Fate from outside her office. The Section 6 pen, usually a hive busy with activity, was atypically empty. Just a few elements from Verossa and Griffith's teams who were processing the latest information in silence, overwhelmed by the continuous hours of work; nothing compared to the usual heated activity that took place when everyone was there.

From her position in the dark, Nanoha felt something breaking inside her by seeing Fate, always strong and determined, always sure and firm, down like that. She had no idea what Grangaitz had said to her, but Fate looked… defeated. Seeing her like that caused a lump in her throat and made her feel completely powerless.

Another family had been murdered and they had been unable to do a thing. Nothing! Despite everything they had done, and after everything they kept on doing, Fate had no idea who that man could be. She felt she had in her hands the power to solve the case and despite that, she felt so far from actually being able to do it that she could almost scream her frustration. Almost roaring, Fate jumped up and with a single movement crashed her fist violently against the closest wall. That was as useless as everything they had been doing so far, useless to ease the pain she was feeling inside, completely useless as she felt at that moment. She was about to strike a second time at the wall when she felt being pushed.

"No!... Stop it, Fate…san… Don't do that… Please," Nanoha had her grabbed by the black jacket of her uniform, which, very uncharacteristically for her, she was wearing unbuttoned and disheveled. Nanoha was pushing her towards her desk, away from the wall Fate was punching. Fate shot her a hard stare. What the hell did that girl know about her to tell her anything? Moreover, she was not even supposed to be there in the first place. Much less was she to see her in that state, the least she wanted from that girl was her compassion.

Harshly moving away from Nanoha and fixing her jacket from where Nanoha had pulled her, she asked equally harshly, "What are you doing here, Takamachi-san? I seem to recall telling you to go when we finished the interview…" Fate could not help but stop at that moment and clench her jaw to keep herself from hitting something again.

"I know," Nanoha said moving closer again, despite the clear warning she could read in Fate's eyes. Getting close was dangerous, but she couldn't avoid it. She could not bear seeing Fate's tormented eyes and do nothing. "But I wanted to wait for you… see if there was something I could do…"

Nanoha left the phrase suspended, without saying what she really wanted to say " _for you, I want to do something for you,"_ and just remained to stare at Fate with bright eyes. Fate could not stand holding that gaze and looking away, blurted out.

"There is nothing you can do right now, Nanoha. You should have listened when I told you. Now you can do so and leave."

To her surprise, Nanoha did not move, and on the contrary, she got closer again to her and all of Fate's body tensed at the feeling of a soft and warm hand on her cheek. It was not the first time Nanoha touched her, but it was the first time she did it bearing so much emotion. Fate, startled, realized that warm hand was shaking as it softly caressed her cheek and gently tucked her hair behind her ear. Fate's heart skipped a beat when she turned to see Nanoha and met a pair of intense clear blue eyes, flooded with deep emotion. Nanoha was holding her gaze without hesitation; her hand was trembling from the emotion, but not her heart, although it was beating wildly for daring to touch Fate like that.

When she spoke, her voice sounded also firm but contained, "Yes, there is something I can do, I can be with you right now."

Fate's heavy breathing was racing, with too many emotions for her own good, feeling useless to catch that monster, feeling vulnerable like when she was a child and had lost everything, feeling incredibly in need of the comfort that this girl was offering her but that she was sure she didn't deserve and flustered by how close Nanoha was to her. So many emotions overwhelmed her, so she did the one thing that she believed she could afford to do right now: pull away from her.

"I don't need you to be with me, not you or anyone…"

But Nanoha was not intimidated, not by the tone or by the insensitivity of the phrase. It was not Fate speaking but her pain, so she would not let Fate drive her away so easily this time; this time she would not give in, so she stopped Fate again by the jacket to prevent her from walking away as she intended.

"That's not true and you know it. I've seen it, I see your pain. I saw it from the very first night I met you… And ever since that moment I have wondered what causes that immense sadness, that pain and ever since that day…" Nanoha interrupted herself when she realized what she was about to say and found Fate looking at her enraged.

This time it was Fate who touched her. Grabbing her by the wrists, Fate dragged Nanoha, pushing her against the wall she was hitting before, almost yelling at her.

"You don't know anything about me!"

A part of Fate knew she was hurting the girl, but she couldn't help herself. No one could see that pain in her and making it so obvious, no one should be telling her what that girl was saying. No one should offer her what this girl was offering to her because Fate couldn't afford to take it and it was too painful to have it there in front of her.

Nanoha was literally being crushed between the wall and Fate's body, she could feel her legs restraining her and her wrists burning where Fate was holding her, she could feel her whole body was suddenly burning up with the blonde's closeness. They had never been that close, she had never spoken to her like that and she had never touched her like that; despite the violence in her words and her actions, Nanoha would not give in, this time she would not let Fate push her away again.

"That's right, I don't know anything about you," she said breathing hard, "Let me get close, let me get to know… about you."

During all that exchange, she had not stopped staring at Fate, not for a single moment. Fate could not bear it, she felt something shattering within her under that girl's gaze. That blue, like the cloudless, clear, and bright sky invited her to lose herself in it, but that was something Fate could not do.

"What the hell do you want from me, Nanoha?" she hissed, gritting her teeth and if it was possible crushing her even more. She wanted to push her away, she wanted to hurt her… but also… she wanted to kiss her. She had wanted to kiss her with everything in her since that damn night they had dinner with Hayate, and that desire had not waned one bit in her despite all her reasoning and her rational efforts. If it was possible, it could be said that it actually increased every time she looked at her.

Without stopping looking at her and without losing the determination in her eyes, Nanoha made an effort to move her hand and caress Fate's cheek again, "I want… to rip that sadness from your eyes… Fate."

With every word, Fate's grip in her wrists subdued, moving just barely away from Nanoha, but enough for the red-haired to be able to move and touch Fate's face and chest, getting closer again just as if her body could not be away from Fate's.

Nanoha's words and her gaze was so intense that Fate felt that her heart was almost stopping at that moment. She could not break away her gaze from those blue eyes and those lips. There was no other sound in the room except their hard breathing; Fate had done everything in her power to push the girl away and there she was, every time, getting closer and closer again to her until Fate felt the last drops of her self-control fading away in blue.

When she realized what she was doing, Nanoha's body was tightly hugged to hers while Fate was passionately kissing her, almost with the same fury as she had been crushing her against the wall, now she was keeping her tight against her body so no space of air was left in between them. Amidst the haze of passion that was consuming her, she felt soft and warm hands grazing her neck and tangling in her hair, she felt how the lips she was claiming were responding to her with the same intensity, opening for her willingly and eagerly.

She heard Nanoha moan in their kiss when her hands traveled down her sides to firmly grab her by the hips, pushing her pelvis more against her until Fate's leg was intimately positioned in between the legs of the red-haired.

Nanoha, feeling Fate's lips moving over hers and Fate's hands over her body, locked her arms around the agent's neck forgetting about everything else.

Fate heard knocks far away, knocks that turned louder and more insistent until she finally opened her eyes and realized what she was _really_ doing… and where.

She jumped away so fast from Nanoha that the latter had to lean on the wall to not fall, both breathing heavily. It was until that moment that Nanoha also realized where she was and they both met Signum's serene and impassive look, watching them from the door as if they had been just having a conversation and not kissing each other as if there was no tomorrow.

"Fate," Signum called, a very up-to-her-ears-blushed Fate, "Hayate is in a meeting at the General Direction. Gil Graham is with them and he is calling for you."

"Gr…Graham? I mean… Admiral Graham is calling…me?"

"That's what I said… and Hayate also said you had to hurry."

Before leaving her office, she briefly glanced at Nanoha who was still leaning against the wall, with her arms crossed and her face completely red. Fate tried to say something but nothing came to her mind. What could she say that made sense after what she had done?

"Fate," Signum called her again, but this time she did seem ashamed of having to hurry Fate.

Fate left, following Signum with a knot in her stomach and her hands sweating. Along the way to the general direction, she fixed her uniform and her hair. Standing in front of the door, she was wondering whether to ask Signum how she looked. Her subordinate had seen her kissing Nanoha, in her office, in an extremely complicated moment of the investigations they had at hands. And it had been far from a simple, chaste kiss. She almost feared what Signum had to say.

But what she said was what she least was expecting.

"You are okay," Signum said, fixing her jacket a little. "You've done well, just tell them what we know and what you are sure of. Don't judge yourself beforehand, Testarossa, you are an inflexible judge with yourself… trust yourself and everything will be all right. The day is about to end, so just do your best, okay? We are all here to help you with whatever's decided."

Fate was gaping and speechless.

"Go on, now," Signum said, knocking on the impressive door to the meeting room without giving Fate time for anything else.

— X —

**TSAB's Headquarters, General Direction Offices for Special Units to the Tactical Division.**  
**Day 27, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 21:00 hrs.**

For over two hours, Fate explained in detail what Grangaitz had told her, and thanks to Rein's expert aid, she was able to show on the screen some fragments of her long sessions with Zest:

" _For several years, Megane and I had a… clandestine relationship, if you will. She had been married for many years to the politician Logan Alpine, who at the time was consolidating his 'brilliant' career as a member of parliament. Although they no longer loved each other, Megane had to stay with him. Logan... had a certain... 'fondness' for young boys that Megane eventually discovered. It was simple, Megane needed Logan and vice versa."_

" _Megane got pregnant with Lutecia a year after we started our relationship and after four years working in classified projects for the army. She decided to have the baby and I never regretted that… we never told Lutecia I was her father…"_

" _When Lutecia disappeared, I… something broke inside me… No one did anything, no one had answers. Megane changed as well… She was devastated… I started to look on my own for the answers no one was giving me…"_

" _The different leads I found kept leading me to the same place: Scaglietti… Here's the information I have found so far…"_

" _Again, no one did anything. Or rather, they did… disappear the information. They cleaned the records that to a lesser or greater extent could incriminate Scaglietti. Are you aware Agent Testarossa that there were several complaints against the doctor for harassment and harassment against minors? No one followed up on them and each one of them, ALL of them were reduced and ultimately, closed…"_

" _I stopped trying to make the authorities investigate and I pretended to keep focused on my research job when I actually started to investigate and follow Scaglietti…"_

" _Megane did not agree, she could not believe that Scaglietti would be the terrible… monster that had taken our daughter… we broke apart… the investigation on Lutecia was stagnated and Megane would not even listen to me…"_

" _I left everything, ´disappeared' from public life, I stopped my research and devoted entirely to finding answers on the whereabouts of Lutecia and of Jail Scaglietti…"_

" _Until she, Megane… was murdered… even now I do not know if both things are related. I saw TSAB protecting my old colleagues; I investigated and learned some had died, murdered as well…"_

" _That's why I was near the Yazawa family's house… Ah! … Yes, Agent Testarossa, I know it was there where you identified me. The lady that wanted to spray her house for bugs, right? ... Not everything can be foreseen..."_

Fate and Hayate explained that they had corroborated Grangaitz information and that, in fact, the DNA samples in Lutecia Alpine's file matched with her being Zest's and not Logan's daughter.

The unavoidable questions that arose were, why had Section 9, the one handling the case, not reported anything? Didn't they know? (in which case, who was really the incompetent one?) or if they did, why had they decided not to report it? Why had they not advanced in the investigation?

Regius Gaiz was complaining that twenty days had passed without results in the case of the serial killer of the researchers, but he had more than two years without results in the case of Lutecia. None of that smelled good to Fate and Hayate.

Even more so considering that someone had definitely given information about the operation to capture Zest Grangaitz to the Huckebeins. They knew that TSAB was going to be there and they even knew the location plan of their elements. The position and timing chosen to attack Grangaitz were no accident. Only someone with high-level access to TSAB's systems could see that information. Hayate couldn't see Sections 7, 8, and 9 operations, but they CAN see hers.

Gil Graham was mortally serious after Hayate and Fate finished their report.

"What you are saying is extremely grave, Colonel Yagami, Enforcer Testarossa."

"We know, Admiral," Hayate replied. "And we do not want to rush into any judgment, we are merely stating the facts in the open. Regardless of the seriousness of the facts related to Scaglietti and the Alpine family, we have a leak and we need to stop it. It is imperative to solve the case. In the meantime we determine the source and purpose of the leak, we need to protect ourselves."

"Scaglietti has been a contractor for the army for over twenty years," Lindy was considering the implications and ramifications that fact would have on the case.

"Which makes what Dr. Grangaitz comments be even more meaningful, Admiral," Fate said, looking at her adoptive mother. "Grangaitz has shown us the deleted records, what he managed to rescue before they disappeared. Shari, Alto, and Lucino have done extensive searches, but with the security clearance we have, we still haven't been able to find anything."

"I understand," Graham muttered. It was an extremely risky gambit and wondered if those two young women would be able to pull it off.

"There's something else, Sir," Fate said, addressing Graham. "For the first time we have a series of physical evidence from the latest crime scene, we are pursuing them right now and surely they will get us closer to a suspect. We need that information to be classified as well. We cannot take any chances."

"Something more relevant than usual?" Graham wanted to know, finding the request odd.

"Yes, Admiral. From the very first moment, we were puzzled that the killer was able to do… the atrocities we have seen on the victims without anyone, be it, neighbors or passersby, noticing anything. In each tox screen run, a drug has never been found. This time, due to the increased security, we were faster at the crime scene. The coroner estimates an hour had not even passed between the Segebrecht's death and our arrival…"

"Damned be," Chrono muttered under his breath.

"Yes, we were very close to him. This time, Shamal found traces of a substance in the bodies of the victims, they all had it. We still don't know what it is, but Shamal indicates it's an apotoxin that blends into the organism; when she found it, it was almost disappearing, but she was able to isolate it. Half an hour later it had disappeared from the bodies, leaving no traces of it, as if it never had been there," Fate ended.

"If we identify the substance and where it comes from, we will have the responsible one," Lindy said looking at Fate and Hayate with pride.

"Exactly, Admiral. Shamal is working on the lab but no one, absolutely no one, can know about this lead. I'm sorry, but least of all, General Gaiz," Hayate said looking at her tutor. Only he could give that authorization.

"We also will need for Zest Grangaitz to remain under our custody, Admiral. He is not an indicted suspect as General Gaiz has tried to say, after everything that has happened, we should almost place him under the status of a protected witness."

Gil Graham knew that what they were asking from him was extremely risky. Gaiz would already be pulling his political strings and surely, he would soon be feeling the resulting pressure.

Looking at his protégé, he saw a young woman, determined, professional, and extremely intelligent. He knew what she was capable of. The rumors of nepotism associated with their relationship were completely unjustified which made the situation even more unfair for Hayate. She had gotten where she was because of her effort, not because of him. And in the same way, a mistake, however insignificant, could make Hayate and Fate lose everything.

The final decision however not only relied on those two girls but also her immediate superior officers.

"What's the opinion of Director Gracia and Admiral Harlaown regarding the requests of Section 6?"

Lindy and Carim looked at each other.

"I consider that Colonel Yagami and Enforcer Testarossa are right. We cannot leave any loose ends. For my part, I authorize an independent classification level in this case. However, they must keep us informed every three hours of the progress of the case."

"I agree with Director Carim," Lindy said, looking at Fate and Hayate. "You must be extremely careful, if the enemy is inside your house, your role will be even more delicate. You cannot engage in a direct confrontation with Regius Gaiz. Therefore, Zest Grangaitz will be in the custody of the Operations Division under Admiral Chrono Harlaown. From now on, he and his team would be assigned to support Section 6 for that task, if you agree, Admiral Graham."

Graham nodded appreciatively. Maybe Hayate and Fate alone would have it very difficult, but with Carim, Lindy, and Chrono they would have enough support.

"Agreed. Actions authorized."

They were all standing up to leave the meeting when Graham called them again.

"You have my full support, Hayate, Fate, but we do not have unlimited time. I will need arguments to support this decision soon. Don't make me look bad."

— X —

Gil Graham's words were still resounding in her head as she walked to the parking lot to her car. Signum and mainly Shamal had insisted that she had to rest that night. Although she did not show evidence of it, she had a gunshot wound to the head, superficial and whatever, but she had to rest. Shamal had ordered it and threatened Fate with going to Admiral Lindy if she refused.

Fate agreed. She had had enough of the little scolding that her mother and her brother gave her after the meeting when they saw the patch that she had on her head and asked for details. Fate had to give them because Lindy was threatening to call Shamal to have the doctor give them to her. She preferred to do it personally. In any case, she knew that Lindy would double-check with Shamal at the first chance she had.

She also had to promise to visit her parents outside of work, perhaps even spending the weekend with them and letting her mother spoil her. All of that, Lindy said as she pinched Fate's cheeks and spoke to her like she was five years old. Fate blushed profusely since near the family group were Deputy Director Carim and Hayate talking and Fate was sure that she had overheard. Hayate would bother her two whole weeks with that.

However, as she remembered the embrace of her mother and brother, as well as the warmth of their words even amid the loving scolding, it made her smile. She really did miss them sometimes. Even though they weren't related by blood, they had always made her feel part of the family. They were her family and Fate regretted pulling them away from her life as well.

Thinking about all the people she kept away from her, she suddenly found herself looking at a certain red-haired that was leaning on her black sports car and she swallowed nervously looking around her.

"You left the office without saying anything and I… thought that maybe we should talk," Nanoha said before Fate asked her anything.

"Uhm… I… don't know if this is the best moment, Nanoha."

"When, then?" Nanoha asked undaunted.

"I don't know… what happened was…" Getting close to her, Nanoha placed two fingers over Fate's lips to silence her. It was not a conversation she wanted to have at the office's parking lot.

"Why don't we go somewhere else and talk, Fate? I… think it's really important that we do."

"It was just a kiss Nanoha, please," the last thing Fate wanted was to go somewhere else and even less to be alone with Nanoha, or rather, she wanted it so badly for it to be safe to do it. "I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have done that… I…"

"I don't want your apologies, Fate Testarossa," Nanoha was starting to get annoyed by Fate's attitude. "I was there, remember? I felt…"

Nanoha stopped. She would not fall on Fate's ploy.

"I don't want to speak here, Fate, let's go somewhere else… please," it was difficult to resist Nanoha's look as she asked her.

"Okay," Fate finally accepted. "I will take you home and we will talk in the way."

Fate moved ahead to open the car door but Nanoha did not move.

"No."

"No? No to what, Nanoha?"

"We cannot go to my house. My roommates will be there, and we won't be able to… speak comfortably." Nanoha gathered all her courage and convincing power to ask, "Let's go to your place?"

Fate felt her mouth going dry and the ground opening under her feet. Under no circumstance could she take that girl to her house, it would be more than she could handle. She knew it, she had already kissed her and her body kept a heated memory of that kiss.

"Do you always move that fast with the first person who kisses you?"

Fate regretted the sentence even before finishing it. It had been insulting and she had hurt Nanoha more than she could imagine. She could see it in her eyes and the tears that she was holding back.

Nanoha pulled away and started walking, quickly getting away from Fate. She could not let her see the tears that were starting to roll down her cheeks. She had been an idiot for waiting for her. More than an idiot. She was behaving like a teenager who had been kissed for the first time, chasing after Fate like that, literally offering herself. That was not what she had intended but deep down she knew that, yes, she wanted what happened in Fate's office to happen again, and that they did not have to stop.

She felt being grabbed by the wrist, stopping her. She tried to wiggle free but was unable. So she stood still looking any way but Fate's way.

"I'm sorry, Nanoha. I should not have said that… I… am a jerk."

"You finally recognize it," Nanoha said without looking at her.

"Listen, Nanoha," Fate said, moving to place herself in front of the red-haired even though she refused to look at her. "There's a reason… I don't want to, no, it's more like, I can't take you to my place because… because I like you too much and if I am alone with you… I don't know if I will be able to hold back."

Fate was completely red after saying that. It had taken all her willpower to say those words but it was necessary. She had been wrong and had hurt Nanoha a lot. She owed her, at least, the truth.

"Maybe I don't want you to hold back."

Fate froze before Nanoha's words until after a few seconds, she was able to raise her head to meet some very bright blue eyes.

"I can't Nanoha… I can't offer you anything."

"I don't expect anything… Fate. I told you before, just let me… get closer to you."

Without saying anything else, Fate led Nanoha back to her car and she drove as fast as possible to her apartment. For the very first time, the fifteen-minute ride to her place seemed endless.

— X —


	11. I could just die in your arms tonight...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated E for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.
> 
> TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: Nothing to say but... enjoy.
> 
> The new soundtrack for the chapter is... if the chapter's title was not hinting it enough, maybe just hinted enough for the old-schoolers: "(I Just) Died in your arms tonight" by Cutting Crew

* * *

**The Legacy** by Aleksei Volken

**Chapter 11. I could just die in your arms tonight...**

— X —

" _From the deepest desires often come the deadliest hate."_

— _Socrates_

— X —

**Midchilda City Suburbs.  
Day 27, Twelfth Month, 2043 - 22:00 hrs.**

Fate's apartment was nothing at all like Nanoha had imagined it. After seeing her office, Nanoha thought her place would be the same… inexpressive, but it was entirely the opposite.

Fate did not live in a modern and luxurious building like hers. She lived relatively close to the office but in an old… somewhat bohemian suburb. Fate's building was dated, recently remodeled… but old, nonetheless. The agent lived on the top floor, in what could be considered the 'penthouse' although it was really one of those apartments, lofts, where there are no walls and all the spaces are blended. The living room, the kitchen… the bedroom. For someone as reserved as Fate, it was a clear indication that she lived alone, she liked the ample space and hated walls. The wooden floor gave it a warm feeling despite the industrial style of the rest of the structure. Nanoha could see the style of the apartment when Fate, as soon as they stepped in, turned on the lights. Just like her office, her apartment did not have much furniture. A couple of couches, a table… her bed in one of the corners. Lots of windows... _that,_ she did have.

Although, at that moment, Nanoha could not care any less about the architectural style and the decoration trends…

During all the way, they had not spoken, they had not looked, and they had not touched each other. As if the weight of what they had said back at the parking lot had suddenly fallen over them.

Slowly, Nanoha went to one of the lamps in the living room and turned it on, for then to turn off all the other lights Fate had turned on. She had already noticed that Fate favored indirect and subtle lighting. And in this case, she preferred it as well. After turning off the lights, she turned and approached Fate until standing a couple of inches in front of her.

Fate felt her heart rushing out of her chest just at the sight of Nanoha getting close to her, the red-haired was not hiding the desire in her eyes anymore, and… it was not like she was able, either. Nanoha had already taken the first step, so slowly, Fate leaned in to brush Nanoha's lips with hers.

Unlike the kiss in her office, which had been like an overflowing tidal wave, this time Fate savored Nanoha's lips softly, taking her by the waist bringing her close to her until their pelvises met. Fate wanted to go slow, she wanted to control the intensity of the sensations that were triggered as soon as she started kissing Nanoha, but her plans faded away in the passion the other corresponded with.

As soon as Fate brushed her lips, these opened and her hands moved up to touch Fate's face and kiss her like she had been craving to do for… days already! For God's sake, she was dying for Fate to touch her and passionately take her in her arms as she had done back in the office. She wanted to see the true face of passion in Fate, she wanted to see her naked in all possible ways.

She did not have to wait for long. Intoxicated by Nanoha's passion, Fate tightened her embrace on the red-haired and deepened the kiss until she had to pull back breathing heavily. Her gaze, still unsure, looked for Nanoha's but she did not let her hesitate any longer.

Nanoha tugged at Fate's uniform jacket, pulling her to kiss her again, rubbing her body against the blonde's all she could. Fate's hands traveled through her sides and stopped possessively on her ass, bringing her close to her and pressing the lower part of their bodies even more as she slowly devoured her lips with identical possessiveness.

The position of Fate's hands flustered her and felt the heat spreading through all her body, despite that, flushed and warm, she was hurriedly undoing the buttons of the jacket and the shirt of the agent; she craved to see and touch the skin underneath that (now) inconvenient clothes; she only stopped when she had to hold on to Fate's shoulders because Fate's lips had left hers to slide by her neck, while Fate's hands moved up to brush the curve of her breasts before filling her hands with them. Nanoha didn't know when they moved from the center of the living room and her butt was leaning on the back of one of Fate's couches, but soon her feet stopped touching the floor since Fate had raised her legs to position herself in the middle of them. Breathing unevenly, following the urgency that grew inside her, Nanoha squeezed Fate's waist with her thighs, her calves crossed to hug her and press against her. Fate's hands didn't stop either, the blonde held her tightly by her back as she kissed the newly exposed skin on her chest and between her breasts.

Nanoha had never felt so turned on, so fast… she had never felt that way, she had never wished so much to be touched in the way Fate was touching her, and never had she wanted to touch someone in the way she wanted to touch Fate.

Her body wanted for Fate to take her right at that second; however a part of herself did not want for Fate to make love to her on the couch of her living room and judging by what she was feeling, Fate was about to lose control… and so was she.

Almost as if she were reading her mind, at that moment Fate pulled back from her a little and looked at her. In Fate's eyes, she saw her own passion reflected and did not take a second to let Fate lead her to her bed amid passionate kisses, while she ripped the agent's clothes; that uniform that she thought looked fantastic on Fate was turning out to be very difficult to take off in that situation.

Despite her efforts, the blonde was still with her bra and her pants undone but in their place, by the time they made it to the bed and Fate laid her down and then placed on top of her. While they kissed, their legs tangled together and it was until Fate completely opened Nanoha's blouse that she left her lips to move down to her chest; in the middle of her desire she did not even unclasp the bra of the red-haired, just pulled it up to free her breasts and capture them with her lips while her hands grazed her sides and her torso.

Nanoha heard her own moans almost as if they did not belong to her; her body arched with own will against the blonde and her legs entwined with Fate's. She could no longer bear any more barriers between them, she needed to feel Fate's skin on hers.

Sitting up a bit, she undid her bra and then removed Fate's and stood still for a few seconds contemplating the blonde's breasts that were exposed for the first time before her. Now it was her turn to hear Fate moan when her hands went up to caress them and her lips descended to kiss them; the sound of Fate's hoarse voice and her body shuddering under her touch was proving very pleasant to Nanoha, definitely something she could get used to.

And it was seemingly too much for Fate's self-control because, after that attention, she did not wait any longer to remove all of Nanoha's clothes until her panties were the last barrier for the agent to enjoy the full nakedness of the other. And with that last garment, Fate took her time... placing moist kisses on Nanoha's abdomen and her thighs while her fingers moved like feathers on her skin, and when those fingers finally touched Nanoha's pleasure center alternating soft touches with more intense ones, she had to bite her lips not to scream; her hips rose to increase the contact and her arms clung to Fate's back in between gasps.

"Fate… please…" Nanoha was worried to finish before they even started; her body and that place between her legs that Fate was caressing, burned and she was melting in the process.

Fate stopped to watch her; seeing that goddess of fire moaning in pleasure in her bed was enough for her own arousal to skyrocket, but it was until Nanoha looked back at her and Fate lost herself in that stormy blue; without stopping looking at her, Fate brought her hands to the last garment and very slowly slid them down Nanoha's hips and legs, revealing the wetness that was waiting for her.

She then spread Nanoha's legs very slowly to stop and watch the flower she would make hers.

"Don't…do that, Fate-chan… don't look… at me… like that," Nanoha gasped, completely embarrassed that Fate would see how wet she was.

"Very well," Fate said with an almost devilish smile as she slowly lowered herself to cover Nanoha's sex with her mouth and who was unable to hold back her screams of pleasure while Fate's tongue and lips explored her.

Her calves were on Fate's back as her own back arched and her hips moved to keep up with Fate's movements, her mouth was devouring her. Nanoha was contorting, tugging at the sheets from Fate's bed; she regrettably felt how she was inexorably approaching the edge of pleasure. When Fate's fingers joined her lips and penetrated her slowly and deeply, the orgasm she had tried to contain exploded inside her. Fate felt Nanoha's convulsion, but she didn't stop moving, flexing her fingers inside her to stimulate _that_ particular spot as her mouth captured and sucked on Nanoha's clit until the surging waves of pleasure added to the others. Nanoha screamed Fate's name as she arched up and she twitched several times before falling, exhausted and gasping for breath on her bed.

Fate's mouth let go of her prey but her fingers remained, while she covered the area with small, quick comforting kisses, before moving up and placing herself over Nanoha to kiss her on her chest, on her neck, and finally on the lips.

Nanoha felt her taste in Fate's lips and was still very conscious of the position of Fate's hand in her sex, which was still throbbing after the climax. Her climax, because she suddenly realized that the only one that had enjoyed an orgasm had been her, however, at that moment, the only thing she could do was to hold Fate in her arms while the blonde slowly kissed her, but deeper every time.

Fate's breathing turned faster and faster as she kissed her; Nanoha could feel Fate's heartbeat on her chest and her own heart sped up again. As her breathing got faster she wondered if she could resist another orgasm like that so soon.

Unable to contain herself anymore, Fate slowly slid her fingers out and then looked at them, trembling from the effort and covered with the essence inside Nanoha; she moaned again when she felt them slide off her and held her breath when she saw Fate licking them.

"I love your taste," Fate said, looking at her full of lust.

Nanoha moved under her and her thigh in between Fate's legs brushed her wet sex, inciting her.

"And I cannot wait to taste you," she said with identical desire.

In response, Fate took her by the hips to pull Nanoha to her and lifted one of Nanoha's legs to her side, then she coupled with her so that their sexes joined. Nanoha heard Fate gasp at the intimate contact and felt her erect clit brushing against her lips. With heavy breathing, she felt Fate begin to thrust her with slow and long movements, increasing the pace little by little as she approached climax; Nanoha clung to Fate's arms to hold herself as she felt that she would inevitably fall into another orgasm very soon with that contact.

Fate felt the orgasms boiling from within her with each movement, faster and faster until she felt it extending all through her body; her movements turned erratic but she made an effort to continue moving in between moans of pleasure until she heard Nanoha screaming again while she tightly hugged her and Nanoha's nails dug in her back.

Exhausted and sweaty, she leaned on Nanoha without breaking the contact of their sexes, her heart was beating uncontrollably and a heart with its own life was beating down there, where their centers touched. They stayed like that for a while, just breathing in each other's scent and recovering.

After a few minutes, Fate tried to move but Nanoha stopped her.

"Not yet," the red-haired in her arms whispered. "I like to… feel you," she admitted, blushing more than she already was for the effort and the orgasm.

Eventually, they moved apart and lay there, naked, one next to the other over the sheets. Nanoha felt terribly sensual to be lying like that next to Fate, especially when she was looking at her with desire even after the session that had just enjoyed.

Fate was, in fact, still looking at Nanoha wondering how they had ended like that. They were supposed to come to her house to 'talk' and that had been the thing they had done less. (Although their bodies had been very eloquent between them, she had to give them that.) Fate was wondering whether to tease the red-haired with that until she felt her getting close to hug her, placing small kisses on her chest and her shoulders.

"I thought there was no way you could look better than you do on your Enforcer uniform, but Fate-chan is truly much more beautiful like this… au naturel."

Fate blushed and smiled.

However, a part inside her was worried about the sudden closeness with Nanoha. She did not want to hurt the girl in any way, but she also didn't want her to… get her hopes high. Despite what Nanoha had told her earlier in the parking lot, Fate had felt her losing control; she had felt how she had given herself and it worried her. She also felt a little guilty for having given in 'so easily'.

"If you keep frowning like that, you are going to get wrinkles very soon," said Nanoha, who had raised her gaze when noticing Fate so silent and had found the blonde lost in her thoughts.

Despite being naked next to her and after Fate having made love to her in a way no one had ever done before, Nanoha cautiously got closer to her to brush her lips with a brief, tentative kiss.

She almost feared to ask, but she had to. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes…" Fate left the answer suspended. It would be best for them to talk at that moment and not later. "Yes, it's just that I… I lead a… complicated lifestyle, Nanoha."

"Are you married?" Nanoha asked with a pit in her stomach.

"No!" She promptly replied Fate after the jolt of the question. "No, of course not," she continued more serene now, "I am not married, and I don't… have a commitment with anybody either."

Nanoha waited relieved although she knew there was something else. Fate's reluctance from the beginning had a reason to be and she, somehow, sensed it.

"That's exactly my point, Nanoha. I… cannot have a commitment… with anyone," at last Fate stared deeply into her eyes. "I would not want to… hurt you… and I am too focused on my job to make any kind of commitment and…"

"Fate," Nanoha called her softly touching her cheek, "Fate," and again until the blonde stopped and looked at her. "It's fine, I… this is the first time… I am with a girl like this and… it's okay if we take things slow."

Fate was not sure anyway. "It's not just taking things slow, Nanoha. What I said before is still true… I cannot offer you anything. I work over twelve hours a day, I go out unexpectedly on missions of indefinite duration, my friends and family are all related to TSAB, I can't plan vacations or have a social life like other people… 'normal people'… and that's the way I have decided to live."

She tried to say it as calmly as possible. It was not that she was telling Nanoha that the extent of their _´relationship'_ would be just sex, but basically, that it was the only thing she could offer.

Nanoha looked at her and understood. "So, we would just be… friends… very close ones."

"Maybe," Fate said. "If that's fine with you."

Nanoha did not know if it was fine or not, she had not considered what would happen after that night; in fact, she had no idea what would happen after the encounter with Fate in the parking lot. To even think about the next morning was too much to ask. However, what she did know was that she wanted to remain close to Fate, she wanted to be close to her… like that, naked and with their bodies entwined. Whatever that meant, she would have to figure it out afterwards.

"For me, it's fine just to be close to Fate-chan," she said, sliding her leg over Fate's hip, who was still laying on her side, propped on her elbow looking at her. Noticing the change in Fate's gaze after that gesture, Nanoha leaned in suggestively towards her.

Fate placed her arm over the leg that was over her and pulled her closer until their breasts were touching, and their lips were about to meet.

"Is this close enough?" Fate asked with a smile.

"Just barely," Nanoha whispered before parting her lips to capture Fate's and start a new foreplay session.

They made love a couple more times before Fate realized it was three in the morning and that she would have to be at work in four hours… and that Shamal had told her to rest… and that she was starving.

Hurriedly putting Fate's shirt on, Nanoha ran to the kitchen to find it completely empty, save for a milk carton of dubious condition, stale toast, and some strawberry jam. Fate was amused by Nanoha complaining about the situation of her kitchen, claiming in her defense that it was perfectly spotless.

"Sure, and empty as well," Nanoha huffed as she prepared two toasts with jam, one for each, and a cup of tea they shared (she only found a lost and forgotten bag of tea in the cupboard).

After devouring that frugal dinner, Fate couldn't help but make love to Nanoha one more time on her kitchen countertop… it was just that the red-haired looked extremely sexy with her long hair down and only wearing Fate's black shirt. She simply couldn't help cornering her against the bar and let her hands and mouth search for places on Nanoha's body that she hadn't tasted yet.

When she finished, Nanoha was panting, calling out Fate's name; sitting on the sink bar clinging to the edge of it with her hands and with her feet resting on the table in front of her while Fate's head in the middle of her legs still licked her juices and kissing her inner face her thighs.

"Fate… that was… a little extreme."

"You said close... you didn't say anything about places."

In the end, back on Fate's large bed as she cuddled with her… "I guess I cannot complain," she mumbled before falling asleep.

— X —

The next morning, Fate woke up an hour later than usual but figured out Hayate would give her a free pass… After all, they had all insisted her to rest and despite having gone to bed to sleep so late, she felt more rested than in months.

" _Sex definitely helps,"_ she thought as she got a shower and dressed up.

When she was ready, she got close to the bed; Nanoha was still lying down, but the sheets had tangled around her body since Fate had gotten up, maybe because she was looking for the blonde's body. Be that as it may, Fate had before her the image of Nanoha lying on her side, with one leg tucked up and the other stretched under her body which allowed Fate to perfectly see not only the curve of her breasts, her abdomen, her rounded hips, and her buttocks but also a glimpse of her sex.

Standing right there where she was, Fate felt how her temperature rose again. She felt the desire in the lower part of her abdomen spreading just by imagining she got close to Nanoha in that position and brushed with her lips those other lips she was getting a glimpse of between her legs. She swallowed as she imagined how she would slide her tongue over them.

She had made love to her almost to death just hours before, but just seeing her like that made her desire reignite, new and intense like the first time. Fate was surprised at the intensity of her desire to possess her… again.

And it did not help when she raised her gaze to meet a very flushed Nanoha staring at her.

"Come," was the only thing the red-haired told her.

Ripping off her jacket and pants almost along with her underwear, Fate was over her in a flash.

Nanoha hugged her around the neck while Fate kissed her ardently and her body moved over her, riding her almost from the first moment. Nanoha's desire was ignited when she felt the shudders in Fate's body and heard her hold back, unsuccessfully, several moans of pleasure.

She stared at Fate arching her brows with an expression half-amused and half-dumbfounded. Fate was resting her head over her shoulders and was breathing heavily trying to recover.

"What you have done has been terribly selfish and inconsiderate… Agent Testarossa," she said with what she was hoping would sound like a very serious tone and an aggrieved look. And she added, "I did not know Fate-chan would suffer from precocious orgasms."

Fate raised her head to protest. "Hey, I did not…" but she understood at once that the facts piled up against her. "It… was your fault."

"Mine? I was not the one who started!"

"Yes, it was you… if you had been lying down decently or well… covered… I wouldn't have… I mean…"

Nanoha took advantage of Fate's fluster to roll and leave her lying on her back to sit straddling her over her pelvis. She was able to perfectly feel how Fate suffocated a gasp as she felt Nanoha naked, sitting over her like that.

"No… Nanoha wait… it's late… I… will be late… and… Hayate… the meeting."

"Do not start things you do not intend to finish, Enforcer Testarossa," Nanoha said mortally serious as she leaned in to kiss her.

Undoubtedly, Fate would be very late for her meeting with Hayate.

When they finally managed to get dressed and go out to the door of Fate's building, they both stared at each other for a while. No strings attached, both had taken it like that. Neither dared to ask the question, " _Will I see you later?"_ although they both wanted to ask it. Nanoha chose to make things easier for Fate, after all the agent had talked to her with total clarity.

"I think I will go to my apartment… you know, to get changed, and then I will stop by the lab for a while. Scaglietti has been asking me for a report for days now."

Fate looked at her seriously, slightly concerned.

"Be careful with him, Lucino and Alto are still verifying Grangaitz's information but we must act with extreme precaution. This afternoon when you are at the office, we will have more information."

Nanoha perfectly remembered what Zest Grangaitz had said about Scaglietti and she still had trouble believing it, but she felt closer to her work with the TSAB than to her work at the university, and certainly much, much closer to Fate that she would never ever be with Scaglietti.

Smiling, she softly touched Fate's cheek.

"Don't worry, Fate-chan… I'll be careful. See you later… at the office, I mean."

"Yes, at the office," Fate was quick to corroborate. "Can I take you home?"

"No," she answered although she was dying to continue being with Fate, "it's already too late for you, and it's not exactly on the way… Go on," she encouraged her with a smile. "I'll be fine, go."

Much to her surprise, Fate did not let her go that lightly. She held her by the waist and pulled her against her to give her a brief yet intimate kiss on the lips. She let go of her without any rush and smiling, headed to her car.

Nanoha, blushing, knew she would have a stupid smile on her face all day and would feel like walking on clouds, but she didn't care. She would think about what that thing that she was feeling was, afterwards.

Maybe because of the emotional turmoil and living new experiences, just like Fate several nights before, Nanoha did not realize that someone was watching her from afar as she got a cab. Someone that had been watching her from the distance for a few days now.

" _That bitch!... She's getting involved with our Fate! … Did you hear? Did you hear? … [She. Is. No. One.] … Fate is interested in her! … [Fate is focused on us now, in us more than ever, she is just a temporary distraction.] … No! … You see how she looks at her! … [Fate is just taking what that slutty whore offers her on a silver platter… Fate is like us, she knows how to seize the moment] … We have to make her pay for daring to get close to our Fate… [Fate is just ours] …. She has to pay… [We already left her our message… that woman… is no one] … She has to pay soon… [The time will come to have fun with her.] … Fate can only be for us… [We are Fate's family and always… will be.]"_

— X —


	12. Complications

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This fanfiction is NanoFate and it is rated E for strong, disturbing, violent, and explicitly sexual, content and situations, as well as intimate scenes between two women. If this type of content is not to your liking, or if you are underage, please do not read it.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: MSLN Characters belong to their rightful owners. All the situations and characters presented in this work are fictitious, any similarity with real, historical, or present situations or individuals, is not intentional.
> 
> TRANSLATOR'S NOTES: I am so glad you enjoyed the last chapter! I wasn't sure we would make it to publish today because, with the beginning of 'Threads of Destiny' that we published yesterday, we had more workload than usual, but here we are!
> 
> The new soundtrack for the chapter is "Because the Night" by Domina Noctis.

* * *

**The Legacy** by Aleksei Volken

**Chapter 12. Complications.**

— X —

"...within the core of each of us is the child we once were. This child constitutes the foundation of what we have become, who we are, and what we will be."

— Neuroscientist Dr. R. Joseph

— X —

 **Residential Suburban area to Midchilda's Rigelian University  
Day 28, ****Twelfth Month, 2043** **\- 10:00 hrs.**

"So, someone finally screwed your brains out as God wills, huh?"

"A-Alisa…chan!" Nanoha's face reached a new level of redness but she tried to glance annoyed and flabbergasted at her incredibly nosy roommate.

"Alisa-chan, you cannot say things like that!" At least Suzuka had the courtesy to stand by her helpless friend in need.

"Well, just look at that face and the idiotic smile she's trying to hide every two minutes… which by the way it's not working, huh Nanoha? …Not even when she did it the first time was she so…"

"Cut it out, Alisa-chan," Suzuka was already shaking her cheeky blond friend.

Nanoha was completely embarrassed and flushed, cowering over the breakfast she had prepared just as she got home. Unfortunately for her, her roommates were there and she couldn't stop them from hounding her… well, no… from ALISA dropping on her with difficult questions that she didn't know how to answer.

"You didn't even remember that we are at the end of the semester and that the end of the year is a few days away."

That was the reason her friends were at home and had not gone to the university. They had some days off due to the end year, so they were making the most of their free time… for Nanoha's misfortune.

"Fine, I'll make it easy for you, then," Alisa said, staring at her. "Tall… blonde… in black uniform… although she also looks good in a dress… What's her name again?"

Nanoha closed her eyes. She was not going to be able to hide it any longer. They had seen her that night that they had that dinner. And they had seen her radically change for the past few weeks she had been collaborating with TSAB. It had been a miracle they had not caught her before or that they had not told her.

Raising her gaze to see her friends, she found that they were not looking at her as if she were some extraterrestrial, but as always, with interest and Suzuka, maybe even worried about her. Alisa probably had some unhealthy impertinent interest, but nothing out of the usual.

"Fate…" she said with shyness after a moment.

"So, are you admitting you spent the night with her?" Alisa insisted.

"Alisa-chan, let Nanoha-chan breathe, she will tell us what she considers… appropriate."

"Oh, no! I do want to know all the details! Who knows? Maybe I'm missing out on the best sex of my life for not 'broadening my horizons'!"

"Mou… Alisa-chan please…"

Nanoha, at last, decided to come clean with her friends since there would be no stopping Alisa otherwise. Although, without getting into details of what she was doing at TSAB, she told them how she had run into Fate again the next morning after she had helped them and how, ever since, she had been helping, on behalf of the university, on an investigation and that she had been spending a lot of time around Fate. She told them how she knew she felt attracted to her for a few days already, but it had only been yesterday when their 'relationship' had reached 'another level'.

For a while, Alisa bickered about how Nanoha had been capable of leaving them out of such happening in her life, say, she had seen Fate the very next day after they had met her!

"How can you have fooled us for a month?" Alisa looked offended at her.

"It has not been a month and I have not been fooling you! It just… happened yesterday," she admitted turning all possible colors again.

"Well then," Alisa said when Nanoha finished and remained silent. "When are you inviting her over for dinner to meet her?"

"Alisa…! It's too soon, I mean, Fate and I are taking things easy, we still don't know…"

"You're not saying you are just fuck buddies… are you?" Alisa looked menacingly at her as she asked the question.

"Uhmm… n…no, not exactly like that," Nanoha knew she shouldn't dig deeper into that topic because not even she knew what to expect from the relationship she had started with Fate.

"Nanoha! No matter how nice that woman seems to you, she will never take you seriously if you accept that!" Alisa complained as if she had never had that kind of relationship with guys before.

The issue there was that Alisa knew perfectly well that Nanoha was not like her… it was she the one using the guys and not the other way around. And she was worried her goody-goody friend would get more than infatuated with the super agent and end up hurt.

"It's too soon Alisa… Fate and I really have a lot of work and there are a lot of things happening right now… I don't even know exactly what I want, and I need your support," she said, at last, looking at her friends. "I… really like Fate and I don't know… I've never felt like this with anyone and I would have never imagined that the one that would make me feel in this way would be… a girl."

"It doesn't matter if it's a guy or a girl, Nanoha," Suzuka said, taking her friend's hand. "To us, the most important thing will always be you. Even Alisa, in her own way… is worried about you."

"So that blonde must be really good in bed to have you all bird-brained like this."

"Alisa!" the two friends reproached her in sync.

"Okay, okay, I'll keep my suppositions for myself… for now. But yes, Suzuka is right. I don't want anyone hurting you Nanoha." That last part she said in all seriousness and with a different expression from her usual irreverence.

Nanoha smiled at her and for the first time in days, she felt at peace with her friends. She was glad to know that the least important detail was that she was seeing a girl and she even liked it even better when she knew she could count on them as always.

They chatted for a little longer; Nanoha told them how she felt (what she could say at least) and why she liked Fate so much until she had to run out to the university again.

Alisa and Suzuka stayed pensively looking at her friend leave at full speed still with the stupid smile on her lips.

"Fate-chan is… wonderful."

"Nanoha did not say that Alisa-chan," Suzuka scolded her friend's not subtle at all snarky tone.

"But she thinks that… And my ass that she doesn't know what she's feeling. She's going to fall in love like a fool… if she's not already done so. Suzuka… we have known her since we were SIX. Never, never ever have we seen her like that… not even when we were sixteen. And yeah… no more and no less than for a girl."

"We will have to give her time for her to figure it out by herself, Alisa-chan."

The blonde looked at her brunette friend very seriously. "Maybe, but if that blonde turns out to be an ordinary womanizer and hurts Nanoha, I don't care how special agent she is, I will rip her head off."

— X —

 **TSAB's Headquarters, Section 6 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes  
Day 28, ****Twelfth Month, 2043** **\- 10:00 hrs.**

"You finally decide to join us, Fate."

Fate knew her stealthy entrance to the meeting room would not go unnoticed by her boss.

"I'm so sorry," she replied, moving uncomfortably in her seat. With Hayate's comment, all eyes were on her. "Maybe the pills Shamal gave me made me… oversleep."

"But you look very rested Fate, so it was worth it!" Shamal said trying to give some support although her comment only made the blonde now blush remembering how she had been 'resting' the night before.

Fate felt Hayate's stare piercing through her. For a few seconds (that seem never-ending to Fate), the shrewd colonel just looked at her in silence, until she stood up to walk towards Rein and continue with the next subject of the meeting.

Surreptitiously while syncing her device with Fate's to update her with the latest news, Signum passed a personal message to her screen.

" _Blushing like that is not healthy Testarossa. It also makes you look guilty."_

That only made Fate blush even more.

Rein took the floor to inform them of the next point. The meeting Hayate had called included all three of her investigation teams so the room was quite full.

"Admiral Graham and the directors have authorized a special classification level for the information we are handling regarding the murders of the researchers. Amy has set up a special server, additional to the ones we usually use from TSAB to sync our devices. You all have to be extremely careful. We will program new access modes for everyone and in case someone other than yourself tries to access your device, it will trigger a security protocol that will delete the information."

"As of right now, we have three high-priority cases," Hayate told them. "Obviously, the murders of the researchers where Fate will continue to be in charge. The custody of Dr. Zest Grangaitz where Admiral Chrono Harlaown is in charge and where our main liaison with Field Operations will be Griffith and we will open a new case to follow up on a new investigation on Dr. Jail Scaglietti. Verossa will be in charge of that investigation."

Fate asked to speak at that moment.

"I almost know what you're going to say, Fate, but you can't be in charge of two operations at the same time. Besides, Scaglietti must not be suspicious, having Nanoha on your team is a risk enough. Verossa is the best option, he will know how to handle Scaglietti." Hayate kept looking at her in a strange way as she informed Fate of her decision.

Fate did not believe that having been late had affected the way in which Hayate had decided on those things, but she could not help but feel guilty.

"I understand the point, Hayate, but the ongoing investigation we already have is related… with everything Grangaitz said as well as possible connection with Scaglietti."

"I know and we will continue to work together; we will all need to stay in sync and keep each other continuously on the loop. What do we have on Scaglietti right now, Verossa?"

"We just received the authorization clearance to start searching on TSABs databases. Ellis and Thoma are already on it, but nothing has popped that Lucino and Alto had not already found last night.

"Last night?" Fate asked as she checked her device. Lucino and Alto were part of her team, she had to have that data there.

"Fate… no one on your team except for Lucino and Alto has seen that information," Rein told her as she saw the blonde looking for the data.

"What?" she asked Hayate directly.

"Yes, Fate. I'm sorry but wanted to wait until today's meeting to let you know. And in fact, I am glad Nanoha is not here right now with us because I still have not decided how we will handle this information with her. After all, she is just a civilian collaborator, one that has a work relation with Scaglietti. I think you can see the conflict of interest that is there, right Fate?"

Fate just looked at her boss. Obviously, Hayate had given it considerable thought, even if she had not made a decision… maybe.

"We found a lot of references to Scaglietti on the TSABs database, some were even police records that were encrypted, hidden within other records. Only because the girls really outdid themselves with their searching capabilities were we able to find them. It has been a lucky strike. Like finding the needle in the haystack."

Hayate then told them that there were at least three accusations on minors' harassment and as many on sexual harassment that had been ´cleaned' from Scaglietti's file. Since he was a contractor for the military such information had to appear in the detailed record kept on him, but it did not. It was just as Zest had said. The data had been deleted. For anyone, even someone with a high clearance enough that did not know where to look, the information simply did not exist. Someone had really hidden it well.

"Someone," Fate said, "that is interested in using that information on Scaglietti afterwards to put pressure on him."

"To say the least," Hayate said.

Fate understood then that Hayate wanted to break apart the cases and give Scaglietti's, specifically to Verossa. She and Hayate were too connected to Graham. Carim, even if she was an ally, had independent interests. If the trail of scum they were starting to uncover led to something truly nefarious inside TSAB they would need for the indication to come from someone who was not them.

But that did not change the fact that Fate still had her mind on another fundamental matter.

"And you don't trust that my team or I can handle that information?"

Hayate looked at her without a drop of humor.

"I don't know if Nanoha can handle the information. She works with Scaglietti, she is an honest person and owes her loyalty to him. Also, she is neither an undercover agent nor is trained in counterespionage or anything like that. For God's sake, Fate, she is a civilian!"

"It would be a golden opportunity to have an inside view from Scaglietti's domain," Fate insisted despite the clear warning in Hayate's tone. "Haven't we able to obtain a warrant for his lab yet?"

"Impossible, we are not supposed to have seen the information we have seen," Hayate fervently denied.

"That sounds an awful lot like Section 9s job," Fate finished slightly disappointed.

And it was exactly what everyone else was thinking but there was nothing they could do about it.

After that, and despite it was not directly her case, Fate suggested Verossa's team to make a correlation between the missing children cases, like Lutecia Alpine's, with Scaglietti's research. Lutecia had never been found and Section 9 had not provided any information on it. Maybe hers would not be the only case.

Everyone knew that in kidnapping cases, especially when it came to children in which there was no ransom and no contact with the family, they had very few hours, forty-eight at most, to find them alive. To everyone's chagrin, it was most likely Lutecia had died shortly after been kidnapped.

To finish the meeting, Shamal told them what she had found about the apotoxin from the Sägebrechts scene.

"This substance," Shamal said showing its microscopic version onscreen, "infilters the blood torrent and causes a total body paralysis, it, however, does not affect the parasympathetic nervous system, that is, the person can continue breathing and realizing all their involuntary functions that keep them alive, however, all the voluntary movement functions are affected."

"The individual becomes completely vulnerable to the aggressor," Fate said.

"Exactly."

"Loss of consciousness?" Griffith asked and everyone knew the implications of that question.

Shamal denied with sorrow. "The individual loses control of the sympathetic system and all muscular activity. Individuals will be completely bloodless but aware of what is happening ... Nor does it diminish the ability to feel ... pain."

"So that fucking pervert knows exactly what he is doing to them."

Shamal nodded again to her coworker.

"We already knew we were after a psychopath, what we didn't know was how he was doing it," Hayate said to settle them down. "What else Shamal?"

"It's an organic compound but I have never seen something like this in my life, I am trying to trace back the original compounds but unfortunately, TSABs database is not the best option for this kind of search."

After instructing them to keep focused on their respective tasks, and very importantly, to keep updated, Hayate adjourned the meeting and summoned Fate to her office.

Rein looked suspiciously at her boss. She had also noticed the difference in Fate that morning but Hayate's reaction to that difference had not been what she would have expected. She was also surprised that Hayate did not ask her to stay for her conversation with Fate, which did not bode well.

Fate stood in front of Hayate's desk while she sat down.

"What did you mean when you suggested that Nanoha would be an excellent choice to have an 'inside' vision of Scaglietti?"

Fate swallowed and prepared herself. Hayate Yagami, Nanoha's big fan, was unusually serious that morning.

"Hayate, you have given Nanoha an important role in this investigation, it puzzles me why you, of all people, now want to keep her on the sideline."

Hayate looked at her indeed, with that unusual seriousness in all his demeanor and demeanor. Fate could read her friend Hayate, but not Colonel Yagami when she donned that impenetrable and unforgiving outfit. It sometimes seemed unbelievable to her that they were the same age and that had known each other for a lifetime.

"I've given her that place because she has proved her worth… until the revelations on Scaglietti started to turn up. Also, you seemed to be reluctant to work with her. What brings this sudden change, Fate?"

"There's no change Hayate… although I must say that during the interview with Grangaitz, she was the one who 'convinced' him to collaborate with us. Except for the classified details on Vivio's existence and the Sankt Kaiser research, Nanoha listened to everything Grangaitz said about Scaglietti."

Fate then had to tell Hayate what Nanoha had done with Vivio although omitted to say that Zafira had helped her. Zafira may very well be the Colonel's older brother but he was a member of Fate's team and she would look like a coward doing so, and more than that, like it or not, Nanoha's plan had worked out.

"I cannot say I liked that decision Fate, it was totally reckless for you to do that. Although Zafira already told me you did not have much choice."

Fate blushed. She would have imagined Zafira would do something like that.

"Don't sweat it, Zafira just told me that he had disobeyed your orders and that he had acted without your knowledge, although he did not tell me what he had done. That does not exempt him from a reprimand, Fate."

Fate merely nodded, that was a pending matter she had with the hunk for later. Edgy and trying to get out of there as quickly as possible, Fate tried to return to their original topic.

"I just asked Nanoha to be very careful around Scaglietti, Hayate. I believe, just like you I hope, that she is someone that can handle that kind of information and also give us exceptional help."

"When exactly did you ask Nanoha that?"

Fate was shell shocked. " _Stupid, stupid, stupid… think of something… NOW!"_

"Are you sleeping with her, Fate?"

" _Shit."_

Fate stared at Hayate. Surely the colonel would have guessed even if she hadn't royally messed up like that. She probably sensed it since she entered the meeting room that morning. Although it didn't matter anymore, the only thing that mattered was what would Hayate decide from that moment on.

She waited for painstakingly long seconds in which Hayate's silence did not foreshadow anything good. She would have expected some of her sarcastic remarks, anything would have been better than that silence.

"Nanoha cannot continue on your team, Fate."

"Hayate, wait… it's not what you think…"

"What the hell Fate… I don't care what it is, you have a relationship with that girl that can jeopardize all the cases! Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't give a damn of who you are sleeping with, what's more, I'd even be glad… as your friend. But not now and not under these circumstances!" More even-tempered, she continued. "Besides, it's too risky for Nanoha."

"What do you mean?" Fate asked, getting defensive.

"If Scaglietti is really involved in criminal activities as serious as those described by Grangaitz and added to that with a corruption case that involves high officers at TSAB… she could be in danger if someone were to find she was the one who gave us the information. I am not going to put her at risk, Fate, she is a civilian, and more than that, she's a girl… whom I really like. Maybe if the circumstances were different, I would have even liked for her to be my friend."

Fate remained silent. The truth was, she hadn't considered all the points Hayate was raising.

"She's coming to this afternoon's meeting as usual," Fate said at last.

"Let's talk with her then."

"Scaglietti may also get suspicious if we suddenly pull Nanoha from the investigation," Fate added.

"You are right about that, and that's why Nanoha will continue working with Vivio, but only with her. She will no longer be involved in the rest of the investigation. And I hope that will be the case in all aspects."

Fate started at Hayate. "You wouldn't be telling me not to see her, right?"

"It's your personal life Fate, there is nothing I can do to stop it if that's what you decide, just take into account the consequences that your actions may have and that these affect others. Graham, Carim, and Lindy have given us their full, unconditional, support for a reason.

Fate did not say anything. There were some things where her mind told her that Hayate was right, the same rational mind that told her she did not have a relationship with Nanoha, they did not have any commitment or any obligation towards each other. That had been very clear the night before. She did not owe any explanation to Hayate and not even to Nanoha on whatever she decided to do.

Why then was she feeling something inside her hurting without any apparent reason?

— X —

"Don't you think it was some unnecessary roughness you applied on Fate?" Rein was looking outside the large windows from Hayate's office without looking at her.

"Don't you think it's rather unprofessional to listen to your superior's private conversations?"

"I did not listen to your conversation with Fate," her showstopping assistant said, turning to look at her. Rein's gaze was fixed and penetrating, one of the few that could crack the impenetrable surface of Colonel Hayate Yagami.

"How can you be so sure then?"

"My place is out there, remember? I am your personal first-class hellhound. I saw Fate leaving your office and I noticed the face she had. I also noticed the face with which she arrived this morning. She looked like an entirely different person… on both counts. I liked the face she had this morning more."

Hayate did not say anything at first. Working alongside Rein was always a challenge in more than one way but it was quite unusual for Rein to specifically challenge her like that.

"She got involved with Dr. Takamachi on a very… personal level," she said as some sort of explanation.

"So?"

"So? What do you mean by 'So'?" I cannot believe that you, from all people, can't see the implications that conveys!"

"I understand, but Fate is no rookie. Also, I thought that as her friend you would be happy that someone, especially someone like Dr. Takamachi would finally have been able to get through all the barriers and obstacles Fate has set up around her and finally managed to get close to her."

"Rein, this case is something that goes beyond everything, if it had been any routine case… maybe. But it's not, you were in the meeting with Graham. We are risking our necks, both Fate and I… and in any case, it's a violation of the ethics code."

"Since when do you care THAT much about your neck and since when do YOU follow SO religiously the ethics code?"

Rein was obviously referring to the ploy in which she had gotten Signum and Shamal using Verossa, among other plans somewhat "unethical" she was always planning to execute. But that was different.

"This is different."

"Because Fate did it by herself without the need of your ruses? Or because it's something you cannot control?"

"Rein," Hayate said, closing her eyes for a moment to calm herself down. "You know I can have you arrested for contravening a superior, right?"

"Of course…" Rein answered moving from the window and getting closer to her boss. Slowly, she got near Hayate placing her hands on the arm seats of the chair where Hayate was sitting, drawing closer until their faces were merely an inch away. From there she fixed her stare to her eyes. "Are you going to arrest me, Colonel?"

Hayate swallowed and held her assistant's stare until she moved away.

"I hope you really know what moves you to make the decisions you are making Hayate. And I hope you would also trust Fate more like she trusts you… You are very worried about 'THE CASE' but you seem to forget that the one who has it more difficult than anyone else, is precisely Fate."

Having said that, Rein glanced again at Hayate and then walked to the door where she told her before stepping out and without looking at her.

"I will be in the place where I belong, Colonel, if you need anything let me know through the interphone."

— X —

 **TSAB's Headquarters, Section 6 offices, Special Unit of Violent Crimes  
Midchilda City. Day 28, ****Twelfth Month, 2043** **\- 17:00 hrs.**

Fate had been feeling down all day. Her conversation in the morning with Hayate had left her… uneasy and with a knot in her stomach despite all the arguments she constantly fenced in her mind. Internally she was in a mess and it disturbed her and angered her.

Rationally, she knew that the best for Nanoha was to not work under her supervision anymore, but it was now when she did not want her away from her. Actually, ever since Nanoha had arrived to collaborate with them, what she had always wanted, from the very beginning, had not been to push her away but to protect her. She wanted to physically drive her away from her so what had just happened the night before would not happen (and it had ended up happening in any case), but she wanted to protect from what it came with dealing with the violent crimes they worked with. And now, when she was finally able to recognize the difference between her wishes, she worried that, away from her, she would not be able to protect like she felt she had to.

For the millionth time, sitting at her desk with one hand on her forehead and the other on the report in front of her, Fate made an effort to focus on the updates of the case. The day had been intense following the leads that had been left at the Sägebrecht crime scene; they had advanced but there was still a long way to go. The list of possible suspects had substantially narrowed as they cross-referenced with the physical data they had been able to find, but still, they were looking at hundreds of names. The prints in the scene had revealed that they were looking for a man between five-eight and five-ten according to the size of the footprint, but they definitely needed much more than that. They needed to narrow down that list. They needed to find a feasible suspect soon. Her instinct told Fate that the circle was closing too much and they were running out of time.

After what had happened with the Sägebrecht family, that same day, Carim along with other senior TSAB commanders had decided to move Doctors Irene Noa and Quint Nakajima with their families to the TSAB facilities. Without counting Jail Scaglietti and Zest Grangaitz, they were the only remaining researchers related to the Sankt Kaiser's military projects… alive. TSAB's top brass wanted to be certain that they would stay that way.

Both women protested angrily at first, especially Quint and Genya Nakajima but Hayate and Carim took it upon themselves to convince them after giving them the death toll from the last scene. It was just a risk they couldn't take. Until the killer was caught, they and their families would be in strict custody at the TSAB facility.

Subaru felt very satisfied with that decision as in recent weeks her apprehension for her family's safety had grown with each new murder, but the same could not be said for her sister Ginga and her father. Both had to go on indefinite leave from their police duties. In addition to the annoyance of the Nakajima agents, the police themselves reacted offended but also ended up reluctantly acceding upon learning of the number of TSAB agents who had already died since they were in pursuit of that murderer. Again, exposing police officers was another risk they couldn't take.

Fate was finally concentrating, shuffling in her mind the possibilities they were leaving for the killer with the last movements when a soft knock on the door made her raise her gaze.

Any trace of concentration faded away thanks to the skirt Nanoha was wearing that afternoon. Blue, tight… and short. Especially that. Fate's brain cells simply petrified at the sight of Nanoha's long legs in front of her.

In general, the researcher wore longer skirts, pants on some occasions, but always with the everlasting white coat (and especially a _long_ one) on top. The mental image of Nanoha in Fate's head was always that of someone covered up to her calves. Until now.

"Hey, Fate-chan… am I interrupting?" Nanoha greeted her slightly intrigued by Fate's silence.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Takamachi, you don't interrupt at all, right… _Fate-chan_?"

Hayate's voice behind Nanoha surprised them both but at least was able to bring Fate out of her own musings, although the remark and the emphasis in which she had called Fate made Nanoha blush.

"Hi, Nanoha… _Colonel_ , come in, please. Nanoha just got here… Colonel Yagami."

Nanoha was deeply intrigued by the excessively formal way in which Fate was addressing Hayate. Very seldom did Fate talk to her like that. When it was not due to a formality, then it usually meant she was mad.

"Thank you… Fate, but let's go to my office instead. I prefer Rein's tea over yours," she said as she walked to her office.

Then, at her office, instead of going to her desk, Hayate opted for the small lounge she had in her large office, quite different from the small couch Fate had in hers. Once Rein brought tea for them, she left without even glancing at her boss, Hayate made herself comfortable in her chair with a cup in her hand and looked at them.

Hayate had chosen her individual favorite chair while Fate decided the safest choice for her was to take the other individual seat, away as much as possible from Nanoha, where she could see Hayate in front of her and not the legs of the red-haired. Nanoha sat alone on the long couch.

"Fate tells me you heard the information Zest Grangaitz provided on Dr. Scaglietti, Nanoha," Hayate said after sipping her tea and taking a note of Fate's decision to select her seat.

Nanoha nodded.

"What do you think about it?"

The red-haired had not really had much time to think about anything. It was until that morning when she reached the lab that everything Grangaitz had told them finally had settled in her brain. Before that, the only thing on her mind (and in other parts of her body) had been Fate.

"I must accept I did not see it coming, Colonel," she said truthfully. "Dr. Scaglietti is a genius, but he's also a person rather… eccentric. It was until today that I prepared myself to see him with other eyes. Given that he was not at the lab at all today I focused on making a detailed recount of my impressions during the time I have worked with him."

At that moment, Nanoha pulled out her traditional red notebook. Hayate arched a brow. In the cutting-edge technological environment where TSAB moved, this girl was still scribbling notes on paper.

"Nanoha… I don't think that it's safe that you use that method for keeping… records," she said staring directly at Fate.

Nanoha looked at her slightly puzzled but understood after a moment.

"Oh… I see what you mean, Colonel. I am not making any specific notes… about the doctor, I mean. I have a lot of different observations in this notebook and I doubt someone else but me would be able to figure them out," she said handing the notebook to Hayate.

Hayate flipped through it and quite right, she could not tell much about everything noted here but she still did not want to take any chances.

"I see, but Fate can make sure you have more secure… means, right Fate? … But more importantly, you were saying about your impressions."

"Ah, yes… Dr. Scaglietti has always been a very reserved man. Yes, one could say he exhibits some of the typical 'obsessive' characteristics that could be considered as red flags but there is nothing that has made me suspect or see him as an aggressor." She looked at Hayate with a straight face before finishing. "I must say, colonel, that pedophile aggressors are the hardest to identify… unless they confess or are found in flagrant."

Fate felt an impulse to tell Nanoha that they had already confirmed the allegations Zest had mentioned had in fact happened, which would be the validation she required, but she held back. Hayate had been very clear regarding that matter in the morning, especially when it came to her,

"Fate…" Hayate called her. Fate looked at her with full attention from the first second but Hayate kept the visual contact without saying anything for a few seconds. "What do you think about giving the information we have to Nanoha?"

Fate was taken aback by the question. The least she was expecting was for Hayate to ask her that, especially in front of Nanoha. She waited for a few seconds looking at her boss but Hayate remained with the same attitude. Serious but gentle.

"I believe it would be necessary for Nanoha to know," she said at last. And she truly believed it, as much for her security but also for everything she could bring into the case with her optics.

Hayate explained to Nanoha that the allegations had indeed been true. Later, with parsimony that left Fate astonished, she explained to her that they had opened a special case to verify those accusations against Scaglietti.

"The last thing we want to do is put you in any danger Nanoha. We cannot ask you to 'spy' on your boss. You have done an excellent and invaluable job helping us with this case and if Fate deems it appropriate, we would like you to continue helping but that will not be spying on Scaglietti."

Fate's surprise increased as she heard Hayate's words.

"However, there's something I would like to ask you, Nanoha… Do you think Scaglietti may have kidnapped not only Lutecia Alpine but other children as well?"

Nanoha pondered it for some long seconds.

"It's extremely hard to say just based on my work interaction with him. But… if the allegations are true then that increases the possibility. Pedophiles rarely look like one, that's what makes them so effective and dangerous. But there is one thing certain with them: they always do it again. Just like the homicidal impulse in a psychopath, they cannot control it and will not stop attacking by their own free will."

"So, if we place him under a tight surveillance, and a very discreet one, it would be possible to detect something more conclusive," it was not a question but it seemed Fate was waiting for a confirmation.

"Yes, absolutely."

After Nanoha's answer, Fate looked at Hayate.

"Verossa is already on that, Fate. Scaglietti won't even go to the bathroom without us knowing."

That perspective somehow did not thrill Fate but there was something that worried her.

"Isn't there a chance he might notice the surveillance?" as she talked, she kept thinking about Nanoha and her safety.

"Verossa can be very subtle when he puts his mind to it, Fate. Don't worry," Hayate replied almost as if she knew the source of Fate's concern.

Hayate explained to Nanoha that they couldn't give her many details about Agent Verossa's investigation but left it up to Fate to decide what information might be necessary for her, mainly for the security aspect.

Fate was still silent, wondering what Hayate's move was. That was not what she had told her in the morning.

Afterwards, almost as if that morning conversation hadn't happened, Hayate herself brought Nanoha up to speed on Shamal's discoveries about the apotoxin found in bodies and the effect it had.

"Unfortunately, in that sense, the TSABs database is not efficient. Shamal has not been able to find the origin for that apotoxin, how it was synthesized or what is its base component. However, I thought it would be useful that you knew about this if you need to specify any details about the profile of the suspect we are looking for."

"Totally," Nanoha said without looking at Hayate, writing down notes almost furiously in her notebook. "We already knew that control was one of the key points of the subject, but this takes it to a new level. Control is the MOST important thing to him. The victims don't have the slightest chance before him, and he wants them to know it before they die. The profile is much more serious than I originally thought."

"What do you mean?" Fate asked, moving in her seat and almost sitting on the edge.

"We definitely have to look for a subject with a proven history as a victim of systematic physical abuse, and most likely sexual as well. You can rule out from your list all those who are found to have not suffered this type of… extreme abuse."

"That blunt?" Hayate looked at Nanoha, uncomfortable again for her to be taking notes like that.

"That blunt, Colonel. There is no explanation for evil, it's difficult… to translate to our standards the way someone like this subject thinks but the level of sophistication is not 'natural'. That could very well be the reason for the hatred shown in those scenes."

"The other fundamental point," Nanoha continued, "is that you should discard anyone that is not college-educated at least, maybe even higher degrees. Whatever that toxin may be, it's not something you can buy in just any drugstore of choice. He prepares it, by himself or with help, but it's not an easy process."

Fate and Hayate looked at each other, looked at her, and before asking her to explain, she gave them the details.

"If that substance works on the nervous system in the way you are telling me, a wrong dose would kill or desensitize the victim. He doesn't want that, he wants the victim at his mercy, aware, with no sensory deprivation, and completely vulnerable. Conscious to feel the pain he will inflict them and also to realize they won't be able to move a single finger to avoid it. Completely helpless… Just as he must have felt at some point in his life, maybe during many years of his life. That moment is the one you need to identify to find him."

"So he not only assaults the victim's body but also…"

"Their consciousness," Nanoha told them both although it had only been Hayate the one speaking last. "Exactly that, Colonel. His pleasure comes from both perversions. That's why I say we're not just looking for any psychopath, but a quite sophisticated one."

"Ask Rein to call Shamal and Signum, Fate. We need to give them this information and see how much we can narrow our list down."

"Right away," Fate said, standing up to pick Hayate's phone.

Suddenly, Nanoha interrupted herself remembering something. "I almost forgot about the toxin, maybe I will be able to help Shamal with the investigation."

"How?" Hayate asked as she heard Fate speaking with Rein in the background.

"Yes, a childhood friend is Director of the Infinite Library at the University. Maybe the TSABs database won't have enough records about it, but Infinite Library surely does. My friend could help us research."

Hayate was weighing Nanoha's words. Not even an hour ago, Shamal had told her frustrated that she had zero advance in that topic. The data was simply non-existent.

"We could not give any detail of the investigation to your friend, Nanoha. Do you think he'll be willing to help like that? Basically opening up the Infinite Library without restriction, without questions and blindly?"

"I'm sure, I trust Yuuno-kun and I know he trusts me. Just a while ago he invited me to the Infinite Library precisely to show me the new search engine he developed. This would be the ideal opportunity to do it while helping the investigation."

Hayate considered it. Nanoha was very enthusiastic talking about her friend. For a moment, disregarding the investigation at hand, she wondered if she had to worry about her friend's wellbeing. Even though Fate did not accept it (and she was sure Fate did not accept it), the colonel had seen she was captivated by the researcher. A few minutes ago, in her office, Fate was completely drooling at her; Hayate understood it, Nanoha's legs looked superb in that skirt… Would Nanoha be a nice girl just exploring her bisexual side, experimenting on new emotions, or was she really interested in Fate?

"What are you talking about, helping the investigation, how?" Fate asked, getting back to their talk.

Nanoha explained her idea again now to Fate and when she finished, Fate looked at Hayate. Up to this point, the colonel had not said anything of what Fate thought she would say.

"Shamal is the one running point on that part of the investigation and she's part of your team Fate… just as Nanoha," Hayate made a slight pause that did not go unnoticed to Fate. "If you believe that's the best course of action, I will support the decision you make."

Fate almost stood up to take Hayate's temperature after that comment. She hardly cared that Hayate made fun of the incredulous face she was sure she had right now.

Some knocks on the door announced Shamal's and Signum's arrival. Rein let both in and they both sat next to Nanoha, to whom Shamal greeted effusively.

"Vivio has also missed you a lot, Nanoha-san," the doctor told her with a wide smile.

"I will come with you to the medic wing when we finish here, Shamal-san, I also want to see her."

"That is another issue we cannot stop paying attention to, Nanoha, Fate, Shamal," Hayate said. "Vivio is a key witness. The closer we are to getting a suspect, the closer is the moment in which Vivi may have to positively identify him without a doubt. She must be ready for that."

"We are aware of that, Hayate. Nanoha and I are working almost daily with her. Although we don't know when she will be able to speak, she communicates well, despite her age, she's writing some simple words already."

"That's right, Colonel," Nanoha continued for Shamal. "In fact, to advance in her medical rehab it would be important to not have her always restrained to only the medical area, at least for part of the day. She needs to recover some sense of normality. And some familiar stability, reconstruction of affective bonds. She needs human contact and affection like any other six-year-old."

For a while, Hayate, Shamal, and Nanoha talked about Vivio while Fate and Signum just listened and nodded. In the end, Hayate agreed to allow Vivio to go out with Shamal and Nanoha, always accompanied by Zafira or Signum and at least two other TSAB agents.

"We'll see what alternatives are there for the familiar environment," Hayate commented. An idea was coming to her but she did not know how Fate would take it so she decided to wait… for now.

After putting Shamal and Signum up to speed with Nanoha's proposal, Fate decided that the plan was viable and they should explore it. So it was decided that Fate, Nanoha, and Shamal would go to the Infinity Library the next day.

"One thing, Fate… we don't know how much this can relate to Scaglietti's case that Verossa is leading, but to cover all angles, bring Ellis with you. Rein will make sure to let her know."

After finalizing some details, they all prepared to leave and return to their tasks, but Fate took a bit. She had to have at least a few words with Hayate in private.

She closed the door a little before heading out and addressed her boss in the same formal tone she had been using with her all day.

"I was very surprised by your decision, Colonel, are you sure it's the right decision?" she cut to the chase, staring at her.

"No," Hayate replied, staring back with identical determination. "But I am sure that I trust you."

Fate was speechless. Hayate always rendered her speechless when she spoke to her like that. Her friend always had an unknown way of surprising her.

"Just promise me something…"

Fate got defensive. She knew it could not all be so easy. "What?"

"Promise me you will think with your head and not with…"

"Hayate!" Fate hissed refraining from exclaiming almost shaking her boss with her face VERY red.

"Promise," she insisted.

"I promise," Fate whispered before almost running out of her office.

Rein saw her pass by with curiosity.

Signum looked at her with curiosity when she approached where the three women were speaking.

They cleared up some details for the next day, Rein would let Ellis know and then, on the hall on their way to their activities, Shamal dragged Signum to the opposite way, leaving Nanoha and Fate for a few minutes alone.

They were in the hallway, still very close to Hayate's office. There was not much they could do in any case. Fate cursed inside again that Nanoha had chosen _that_ outfit for _that_ day in particular. Although it was true that the redhead looked great with that skirt above her knees.

"Are you going to see Vivio then?" Fate asked.

"Yes…" Nanoha was dying to ask her if it was okay to wait for Fate and leave together, but she could not find the courage to do so. She did not want to push Fate, but the truth was she had not been able to stop thinking about her all day long.

"Good… I went to see her in the morning after I got here," Fate did not want to keep the conversation going and she did not want to get distracted a lot by looking at Nanoha. What Hayate had told her in the morning was still weighing on her rational mind, maybe even more so after that 'reconsidered' sign of trust.

So, despite their wishes, neither said anything about seeing each other later.

They both said goodbye, looking shyly at each other, with a knot in the stomach, and agreeing on meeting the next morning early at the office to go to the university.

— X —

"Is there anything else I can do for you, Colonel?"

The question reached Hayate via the interphone, cold and distant.

"Yes." Rein knew perfectly well she hated speaking to the machine. She always came in to say goodbye at the end of the day or to tell her anything. "You can get in here."

A crack in the line told her Rein had hung up. Two seconds later her door opened and Rein entered, two steps inside and with the door open staring at her. With that sterile, strict-business attitude that Hayate hated too, and that Rein had had ALL day.

"Close the door Rein."

Rein closed it but did not move an inch from where she was and she did not speak to her either.

Hayate looked at her. This one was going to be harder than she expected. " _Quick and painless is best."_

"I fixed things with Fate, okay?"

Rein did not flinch and the expression on her face did not change either. "I am glad for Agent Testarossa."

Silence.

Rein had not moved a muscle. Ever since she had closed the door, she had remained standing, almost at attention but holding her hands in front of her.

"Rein…" Hayate knew what she had to do but she could not find her ways towards those three words.

"I told Fate I trusted her and that I would support the decision she makes."

The usual Rein, the one that could see past her and almost guess (without the almost) her thoughts would have told her something along the lines of " _A small step for humanity but a giant quantum leap for Colonel Yagami"_ or something equally or more snarky. But this cold and distant Rein only repeated.

"I am glad for Agent Testarossa."

Hayate almost jumped from her desk to shake her.

They looked at each other for what seemed like an eternity until Rein asked, "If you don't need anything else, Colonel, may I be excused?"

Hayate breathed in deeply to calm herself.

"I don't need anything else Rein, you are dismissed," she said on the point of sadness but her tone did not cause empathy on her assistant.

"Good night, Colonel," she said and without waiting for an answer turned around, closing the door behind her, leaving Hayate with only one thought in her head.

" _Okay, Colonel 'weisenheimer' Yagami, how the hell are you going to fix things now?"_

— X —

 **TSAB's Residential Area  
Day 28, ****Twelfth Month, 2043** **\- 22:00 hrs.**

That evening, although late at night, all the Yagami family was all gathered for dinner for the first time in days. Hayate was happy that at least 'that' part of her ploys had turned out as she expected.

After dinner, Shamal went out to the terrace without even worrying the kitchen was a little untidy. Despite the mess and the turbulent times they were living in, she could not help feeling happy.

Except for the fact that they were not back at their home, dinner had been like many others they had enjoyed as a family. Except that this time there was something different, something that made her heart beat faster; she and Signum did not look at each other in the same way and even the slightest touch as they set the table, as they talked, had a new meaning.

A couple of days earlier, before the murderer turned everyone's lives upside down, Shamal had discovered in the most unexpected way that Signum did not see her 'only' as her 'sister' either. That day when she finally got out of the office showers, Shamal was flushed and had a hard time walking without shaking. They had only kissed each other endlessly, but in what way!

Standing on the terrace, she shuddered at the memory, and it wasn't precisely because of the chill of the night. She vaguely remembered the way Fate, (who in fact had stood guard in front of the door without letting anyone in) had looked at her intrigued when she left it, but she said nothing. Shamal imagined that she had gone inside afterwards to see Signum, who hadn't told her anything about it yet and she didn't want to, nor could she imagine or ask what she had told Signum to Fate; she herself still couldn't believe that was finally happening. The hustle they had all been in the previous days hadn't helped her think about it ... but that hadn't diminished her happiness either.

It was clear to her that they both wanted more than passionate kisses but definitely not in the office showers. And in a way, it was too early. She was still getting used to the idea that she wasn't dreaming and that indeed, going beyond those heated kisses was something they both wanted with equal intensity.

She heard Signum come out behind her and stop at a safe distance from her.

"Everything all right?" she asked.

Shamal merely nodded while Signum walked over to lean on the terrace railing with her, lightly touching her hand.

"Is something worrying you?" It was unusual to have such a silent Shamal.

"Aren't you?" Shamal answered with a sad smile.

"Work or personal?" Signum preferred to clarify to avoid mistakes.

"Personal," Shamal said, staring at her.

"I'm only worried about you," she said, getting close.

"Wait, Signum… the guys are inside," Shamal said, concerned, stopping her.

In the madness of the last few days, they constantly saw and crossed each other in the office, and if something had changed, it was that now they smiled more at each other in those encounters but they had hardly touched and much less, they had talked about what had happened. between them. That was the first night, the first hours that they could be together not counting work, and that they were at the same time at their temporary home. It was the closest they had had in days to a few moments of peace.

"So?"

"So?! We haven't talked to them, well, we haven't even talked, you and I since… that morning," she corrected herself, blushing.

Signum got closer to her, holding her by the waist and intimately pulling her to her body. "You… Do you want this?"

Shamal understood she meant them in that way, as lovers.

"Yes," she whispered. "You have no idea how much."

"Then there's nothing to say, just let them figure it out," saying that Signum closed the distance between them to kiss her softly, as she had wanted to do so many times during those days after the first time. It was a somewhat chaste kiss but did not leave any doubts to any of the people watching from the living room what kind of kiss that was.

Inside, sitting in the room were Zafira, Hayate, and Vita talking after dinner. Hayate wasn't quite ready to be alone with her thoughts after her cold goodbye to Rein and indeed, the three of them saw very clearly what was going on outside on the terrace.

"Arghhh… Hayate-chan… does that mean those two are going to be making out and cuddling all over the house?"

Something finally made Hayate laugh with her usual sense of humor. "Knowing Signum, I hardly see it happening, Vita-chan; maybe we will see them… more 'affectionate' than usual."

"Aren't you happy for them, Vita?" Zafira asked. The big man had seldom seen Signum like that night at dinner, relaxed and at peace, almost happy. Especially after those dark days where she looked almost haunted. It was time for Signum to stick his head out of the hole and accept her feelings.

"Yes," said the teen reluctantly. "But, does that mean they will go and live… away, on their own?"

"Hmmm, I don't know Vita-chan. We're their family and will always be, but maybe they will need some space of their own sometimes, like right now. How about we get ready for tomorrow and give them some privacy?" Hayate suggested glancing back at the couple. By the looks of it, the 'tone' of the kiss had increased as they chatted.

"Are they still there?" Signum asked when they broke off the kiss.

"No," Shamal laughed embarrassed, flushing.

"Don't worry, they're our family and will always be," Signum said almost paraphrasing Hayate unknowingly, as she rested her forehead on Shamal's.

The other let herself be, eyes closed, enjoying the closeness and feeling of being in Signum's arms, at last, exactly the way she wanted to be. Until a question startled her.

"Should we go to your room or mine?"

"Signum!"

Shamal never thought that Signum could have such thoughts so… mundanely carnal.

"Don't you think it's a little… too soon?" Shamal was completely red.

"Don't you think we have taken long enough already? After all, we have known each other for years now and… we are not nine, you know?" the other argued as she pulled her in to trail a way with kisses from the line of her jaw, down her neck while her hands on her hips moved intimately and possessively.

The sense of urgency between her legs made it perfectly clear to Shamal that they weren't nine anymore, but she wasn't ready to take that step with Signum either, not yet. Not because she didn't want to but because she still needed something more.

"But no ... we hadn't known each other in _this_ way," gasped Shamal, shuddering under the other's caresses. If Signum kept doing that she wouldn't be able to resist much longer. Yes, she had really longed for that closeness for a long time, in _that_ way.

Very slowly Signum went up from the base of her neck where she had been kissing her up to her to whisper to her: "I want you… so much…"

"… but we can wait if that's what you want," she finished saying as she pulled away, smiling but without letting go of her.

With heavy breaths, Shamal clung to the fabric of Signum's shirt, not giving in.

"Me too ..." Shamal said but without completing the sentence, just by hearing Signum say that she wanted her in 'that' way, her insides had turned into fire, "just a little more, please..."

They stayed a little longer outside, close to each other, and when they entered, the rest of her family had already gone to sleep.

Signum had a hard time leaving Shamal at the door of her room to enter, alone, but the kiss she gave her before entering, yearning and surrendered, was enough promise so that she could go to her own room with a smile on the lips.

— X —

 **Suburban area of Midchilda City.  
Day 28, ****Twelfth Month, 2043** **\- 22:00 hrs.**

The way home felt endless to Fate despite the hour.

Her thoughts and her emotions were still jumbled, so after parking her car she headed a little head down to the entrance of her building where the last person she was expecting to find, waiting for her, next to the door of her house... was Nanoha.

"Nanoha… What are you doing here? I thought I wouldn't see you until… tomorrow."

The researcher looked at her a bit shy and picked up a canvas bag from the supermarket.

"I remembered the state of your pantry, Fate-chan. You cannot live like that."

Fate remembered that, certainly, her provisions were null but she didn't want Nanoha doing that for her. It seemed an awful lot to what a girlfriend would do and that was the last thing she wanted to think about at that moment.

"Listen, Nanoha…" she began. "It's not that I don't appreciate it… but you shouldn't have…"

Nanoha lowered the bag again and looked away. Back in the office, she told herself a thousand times that the last thing she should do was to pressure Fate; she really didn't want to do it, but she hadn't been able to resist: she was dying to see the agent again… alone.

It ashamed her to accept, even to herself, that bringing groceries to her had been a very lame excuse.

"I was dying to see you, Fate-chan," she said at last without warning and without looking at her, "and not only in the way we saw each other at the office… but I know I shouldn't have without talking to you first." Then, gathering all her courage, she offered, "I'll leave if that's what you want."

Although inside she was praying _, "Don't tell me to go, please don't tell me to go, please, please don't tell me to go…"_ Nanoha was determined to accept it if that was what Fate told her.

Fate felt a pit on her stomach as she heard Nanoha's offer and especially to see that she was willing to do it. No, that was not what she wanted. She did not want her to leave. Despite the uneasiness she felt since her conversation with Hayate, despite her rational mind telling her what was best… she wanted so badly to see Nanoha.

"Let me help you with that," she said, grabbing the grocery bag hastily as she opened the door and gestured to a very surprised Nanoha to come inside.

During their way on the elevator, Fate did not say anything and Nanoha didn't dare to say anything either.

They had hardly finished entering the apartment when Fate was already dropping the bag of groceries on the floor to catch Nanoha in a hug and kiss her passionately. _That_ was what she really wanted and what she had been wanting to do since the red-haired arrived at the office that afternoon.

Fate had Nanoha with her back leaning against her door, already closed, while she kissed her and her hands were lost under that skirt that the researcher had chosen for that day and that had tormented Fate from the first second she saw her.

Nanoha gasped when Fate's hands finally reached their destination but by gathering her will she managed to pull away a bit to mutter, "Fate… wait a bit… please."

Fate was surprised by her own passion overwhelming her, even more than that morning. What had that girl done to her to have her like that?

Barely controlling herself, she pulled back a little, breathing heavily; just a little, since she didn't really want to let go of her. Nanoha looked at her in the dim light, Fate hadn't turned on any lights this time and the only lighting came from outside, through the windows that still had the curtains drawn. Taking Fate's face in her hands, Nanoha leaned closer to explore her lips; not in Fate's passionate (and almost desperate) style, but more gently; caressing them with hers while she made the kiss deeper and deeper.

They kissed in that deep and slow way until Fate felt herself going crazy. She could feel the wetness growing between her legs with every second and her hands were already on Nanoha's butt again, lifting her skirt and pulling her towards each other to increase the contact that she had initiated with one leg of the latter rising over Fate's hip.

Up to that moment, Nanoha had practically let Fate take over the initiative but like a child discovering a new world, there were many other things she wanted to experience. So before Fate took control from her again; the redhead managed to reverse the roles.

Leaning back firmly as Fate squeezed her in her arms, she turned to now place Fate against the wall. Slowly, Nanoha began to open Fate's already more familiar uniform, removing her jacket.

"There's something I've been craving to do since yesterday," Nanoha mumbled to Fate's ear as she opened the buttons of her shirt.

"What… could… that… be?" Fate wondered in between kisses as her hands under Nanoha's blouse fondled her breasts.

"Stay still for a moment and you will know," said the other, moving away despite the sounds of protest from Fate, who despite herself, watched her walk away to turn on the nearest table lamp.

Fate was already going behind her when Nanoha stopped her.

"Ah…ah… Fate-chan… I told you to stay still," she said, capturing her and pushing her against the wall again. "You really have a 'sexual hyperactivity' problem."

"It's your fault," Fate said, grabbing her by the waist to kiss her again.

"Yes, lately it seems everything is my fault," she said with a smile before Fate kissed her again. The sad look and the somber tone of a few minutes ago in Fate's entrance had been completely forgotten.

Nanoha had truly managed her objective of ripping the sadness from Fate's eyes but neither had noticed that detail.

At that moment, what was keeping Nanoha busy was feeling how Fate's hands started to move over her body so she decided it was time to act and take the initiative before Fate's passion overflowed and swept her away.

Slowly, she finished undoing the buttons on Fate's shirt and pulled away a bit to look at her suggestively as her hands continued with her belt buckle.

Fate looked at her puzzled; she was still not very familiar with those intimate looks from Nanoha, but the look that the red-haired was wearing at the moment was completely… ravenous.

"What are you doing?" she asked as if it was not perfectly clear.

"What do you think I'm doing?" Nanoha teased her as she started a trail of kisses between her breasts and down her abdomen as her fingers finished opening Fate's pants.

The agent gasped as Nanoha's mouth reached the edge of her underwear and she felt hands slowly slide down her uniform pants. By then Nanoha was already on her knees in front of her, placing wet kisses on the skin of Fate's belly and thighs, around the area that really interested her the most.

"Wait… Nanoha," Fate gasped, "I am not…"

Nanoha raised her head to find a flustered Fate, completely red to her ears.

"You… are not?" For a moment Nanoha almost feared that Fate would tell her that she did not want it even though her body seemed to be screaming exactly the opposite.

"I am not… I... have not showered since this morning," Fate managed to say without looking at her.

Nanoha smiled and went back to her kissing task at hand, this time including the area covered by the underwear. Her hands were holding Fate by the hips but at that moment one moved to softly graze Fate's mount and move a little more boldly, in the middle of her legs. She could feel how wet Fate was even on the cloth, that slid onto Fate's sex when Nanoha increased the pressure.

Fate's moans and the way she was holding on to the wall and to her indicated Nanoha she was not wrong. Fate wanted it as much as she did.

"I think I don't mind that detail in the slightest... Fate-chan," she said as her hands slid Fate's underwear to slowly reveal the fair blond pubic hair on her mount and the part that interested her most, pearly with the humidity inside Fate.

"Fate-chan… is really so beautiful," she said as she brushed with her nose and her lips the area around Fate's center without directly touching it. "Please… don't finish so fast this time."

Nanoha's words were barely reaching her brain when she felt a pair of hands firmly grasp her hips and a pair of lips, incredibly soft, covering her sex in the most intimate kiss and she had to lean even further against the wall to keep from falling. Nanoha's lips moved slowly and intimately on her sex as before they had moved in her mouth, exploring her, ... tormenting her in a cycle where her tongue circled her clitoris and then felt the opening in the middle of her lips and then returned to her clitoris.

Without her mouth ever letting go of its prey, Nanoha finished removing Fate's pants and underwear and then slowly made her spread her legs wider. Now there was nothing to stop her from enjoying the essence of the blonde as she had wanted so much.

Nanoha's body was practically between Fate's legs, holding onto her hips and devouring her as Fate moaned uncontrollably. Despite Nanoha's request, Fate knew that she wasn't going to hold out much longer. Nanoha's attentions were completely focused on her pleasure center and for several minutes, her tongue had not been taking it easy.

"Nanoha…" Fate muttered in between gasps… She was on the verge. Nanoha felt Fate shiver and captured Fate's swollen clit to suck directly on it until she heard Fate scream as her hips convulsed.

Fate, panting and breathless, leaned on the wall as best she could so she would not fall on Nanoha as she felt that her legs were not supporting her anymore and her head was spinning.

On her sex, she felt sudden electrical shocks every time Nanoha brushed her with her lips. She was too sensitive and needed to recover. Slowly, very slowly she let herself slide down to the floor. She couldn't do anything else.

Nanoha helped her sit leaning her back against the wall and then hugged onto her, depositing small kisses in Fate's neck and lips.

"That… was…" Fate managed to say after a while, "very extreme."

"Just barely, compared to doing it in the kitchen."

Fate laughed. That was true. The previous night she had 'ravished' Nanoha in her kitchen and she had not been particularly considerate.

"I was dying to… do it with you," Nanoha confessed afterwards. She never thought she would dare to but she felt incredibly well after touching Fate in such an intimate way and now, sitting on the floor half-naked, hugging and kissing.

"Didn't you ever play doctor with your girl friends in grade school?"

"Fate…chan! You are such a… pervert! How can you think I'd do 'that'… in grade school?!" Nanoha was utterly scandalized and blushed looking at Fate as the latter one laughed.

"Okay, okay… I don't mean exactly 'that', but you know… it gives you a chance to take a peek."

"Fate-chan… I'd never have imagined that from you," Nanoha was looking at her without being able to tell if Fate was just teasing her or if she had actually done that in school.

"No, you're right. I never did that in grade school," she said after a while with a smile, since she was purposefully omitting to say that the one really taken advantage of the playing doctor in elementary school was Hayate. It didn't feel right outing her boss and friend like that with Nanoha.

"It's just payback for what you had me through."

"Didn't you like it?" Nanoha asked, half seriously and half worriedly. She had never done it before and the only reference she had was what Fate had made her feel the previous night and her own instinct.

"I loved it," Fate replied, staring deeply at her, with a penetrating and warm gaze that made Nanoha shudder, only to then seal the answer by kissing her again on the lips.

After a while of making out and feeling the passion rising again, they both realized they had not made it past the door of the apartment yet. They were standing up to continue in the bed when Fate's mobile started ringing. Somewhat reluctantly, the blonde looked for it on her jacket, turning cold as she realized who was calling but answering in a rush, nonetheless.

"Yes, hi?...Mom?"

" _Hi, Fate-chan! …Why did you take so long picking up? For a moment I thought you'd still be at the office and I was about to hang up and call Hayate to complain to her."_

"Uh… no, no, mom… it's just that… I left the phone in my jacket and couldn't find it."

" _Well, how unusual of you_ …" Lindy paused without imagining that her daughter was answering her, flushed, naked from the waist down, with the shirt open and her bra unclasped after a wild orgasm. " _Are you okay, Fate?"_

"Yes, yes, mom of course. How's everyone? Why are you calling so late?"

" _Your father is fine, he's just like you and Chrono, TSAB and his job are always the most important thing. Although lately, it seems Chrono is worrying more about Amy and the twins…"_

More and more generalities of the family as Fate felt positively idiotic to be talking to her mother, half-naked in her living room with Nanoha looking at her and barely holding back her laughter. Nanoha made signs to her that seeing her like this and not touching her was torture, so she was threatening to put her in a difficult situation.

Until Lindy finally told her the reason for the call.

"… _But I was really calling to make sure you won't forget about dinner, Fate."_

Much to her regret Fate stuttered. "Di.. di… dinner?"

" _Fate… you're starting to worry me. You cannot work like that. I know this is a very big case, I'm horrified by the implications. Your father and I want to have a serious talk with you, but you cannot get obsessed like that and forget about everything else."_

"I… see what you mean, mom." Fate knew that nothing short of her cooperation would calm Lindy down. Besides, Nanoha was taking her hand and pulling her to the bed; she was distracting her too much to be able to focus on the call as she should.

" _In two days we will have our end-of-year dinner… like we always do Fate. Your father is very excited because this year, Albert McGaren is joining us… with his daughter."_

Fate, whom Nanoha had already laid on the bed, raised her head and became suddenly alert. True. The end of the year dinner. They always had dinner at the Harlaown house and for the last three years, her parents always invited some girl known to have the same 'preferences' as her to see if Fate would finally fall for one of them. They really tried their best, they always chose beautiful girls, from a good family and with a high pedigree in TSAB heritage. And apparently this year they had chosen precisely Ellis McGaren.

Ellis, with whom tomorrow she and Nanoha would go to the Infinity Library. Damn day.

"Uh… mom, Ellis is my work colleague."

" _Right! Isn't that great? That's how Chrono and Amy met, and they knew they were meant for each other. And they were both working under my command back then… remember…"_

" _Shit."_

That was not the moment to fight that battle. Besides, her mother was just letting her know and there was nothing more to do, the McGarens had already been invited and Fate did not know how she was going to look Ellis in the eye the next two days.

Wet kisses in her calves and up her legs, returned her to her room, and knew she had to end that call… NOW.

"Don't worry mom, I know. At eight, right?"

" _I wish you could be here earlier, Fate. Your father and I really want to talk to you. Be here after twelve if possible and spend the afternoon with us here._

As Nanoha made her way up and stopped in her abdomen with her kisses, Fate found it more difficult to focus on what her mother was telling her.

"I'll try, mom, I can't be sure, but I will be as early as possible. Take care and give dad kisses."

" _I always do sweetheart. You take care of yourself,"_ her mother said before hanging up.

Fate hung up and stayed silent, lying on her pillow, staring at the window, while Nanoha continued kissing and caressing her. For a silent moment, Fate wished she had told her mother that it was not necessary for her to invite any girl this year, that this time she wanted to invite someone to dinner but her words did not come out of her mouth.

No strings attached, they had said.

An end-of-the-year family dinner sounded exactly like the opposite.

Besides, surely Nanoha would already have plans for that day and Fate would feel stupid telling that to her mother without even knowing if Nanoha could (or even would want) to go with her.

"A million for your thoughts, Agent Testarossa," Nanoha told her and who had gotten all the way up to her and was looking tenderly at her.

Nanoha did not ask about the call and Fate gave no explanations either. As things were, to live the here and now was the best they could do at the moment.

"A million… of what, Dr. Takamachi?" Fate replied, playing along.

"Of kisses, of course."

"You better start now or you won't be able to finish," Fate said, pulling her towards her, kissing her passionately again; she had just realized that Nanoha was still wearing a lot of clothes and the situation had to be balanced out.

Here and now the only thing Fate needed with all her soul was to make love to the woman next to her and for time to stop and nothing else to exist but Nanoha's skin over hers.

— X —

_The young man the only thing that wanted was for the man on top of him to finish as soon as possible. He was already used to it. It did not hurt anymore like years before. But he still did not like it… at all._

" _One day, very soon… we'll kill him, and this will be over."_

_One day that would happen._

_For the moment, he had to bite his lips and take on the thrusts. Sometimes, very seldom, he had even had an erection while the other savagely penetrated him, but that was when other memories covered his mind. Memories of women screaming while he did with them everything he could not do to him. Memories of 'his families' and the 'moments' he spent with them…_

_Right now, the only memories covering his mind were those of a tall blonde woman entering her apartment with a red-haired._

" _One day… soon, we will kill her, too."_

_One day, soon, that would also happen._

_The young men felt the final shudders of the man on top of him as he wildly yanked his hair as he emptied himself in him. There was nothing he could do. His hands and feet were tied as always to the posts of the bed; as always, he was facing down, completely exposed and gagged. Although there was never much that he could do; the first times he resisted like a wild animal, but that had only increased the man's pleasure. He did not know that back then, but he eventually figured it out. It had been years since he stopped resisting._

_This time he had taken longer than usual. Each time, he was taking longer. It was his fault, he told him at times; because he had grown up and because he was no longer small and cute… he was now a man and he despised him for that._

_He felt him move and then out of him. Now came the worst part._

" _You are filthy son of a bitch… look how you have left me," the man told him._

_He freed his extremities and then painfully tied his hands behind his back, then his feet, to then drag him and shove him to the floor._

" _Clean me up," he ordered._

_As he could, he got up and obeyed but despite the efforts of his mouth, the other's penis remained flaccid, like the piece of dead meat that he would one day be._

_Enraged, the other kicked him until leaving him on the floor, bent over, naked and shaking, and then paced the room like a man possessed, sputtering._

" _Those motherfuckers are behind me… They think I can't tell but they are so obvious…" a new kick, "just because some fucking asshole who thinks that murdering brilliant researchers is fun… I just hope he comes for me and then I will teach him… just like you."_

_One more kick and then the room remained in silence. He did not see him leave; he still had his eyes closed to not see him. He surely would go pay a visit to his recent little 'guests'. Then he would get hard._

_Eventually, very late at night or early morning, when he was cold, numb, and cramped, he would come and let him go. And then, as if nothing else, he would ask him to have breakfast together before going to work._

_Eventually, one day, that man's suppositions would come true. One day they would meet each other without masks… and the result would turn out very different from what the other thought._

— X —


End file.
